State pensioners over the age of 80 who retired before 2016 are set to receive an extra 25p in their State Pension from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in 2026.<\/p>\n
The little-known payment was first introduced in 1971 in recognition of \u201cthe special claims of very elderly people who on the whole need help rather more than others\u201d and is paid to pensioners aged 80 and over who receive the basic State Pension<\/a> as a top-up. Similar to the controversial \u00a310 Christmas Bonus<\/a>, the 25p payment has never been adjusted for inflation since it was introduced more than 50 years ago. At the time, pensions were \u00a36 per week, so 25p represented a 4% boost. But despite never being uprated, some over 80s can still get an additional 25p added to their pensions.<\/p>\n The DWP<\/a> has included the 25p \u2018addition at age 80\u2019 payout for pensioners on the old basic State Pension<\/a> in its benefits list for April<\/a> 2026 onwards, released after Chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a> delivered the autumn Budget last week, but it is staying frozen at its current rate.<\/p>\n Everyone eligible for the basic State Pension has already reached State Pension age and it is given to men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953. Anyone born after these dates gets the new State Pension instead.<\/p>\n The new State Pension, which is available to those who reach State Pension age after 2016, does not include the 25p age addition, but people who already retired before the pension changeover are still eligible to receive their quarter of a pound.<\/p>\n A Research Briefing issued by Parliament in 2013 explains: \u201cPensioners aged 80 and over receive an addition of 25 pence to their state pension. The age addition was introduced in 1971, in recognition of \u201cthe special claims of very elderly people who on the whole need help rather more than others\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has never been uprated, with successive Governments either arguing that greater priority should be given to protecting the level of the basic benefits, or choosing to target additional resources at older pensioners by other means, for example, through means-tested benefits or lump sum payments, such as the Winter Fuel Payment<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The report added: The addition has never been increased. It was specifically excluded from the statutory index linking provisions of the Social Security Act 1975 (now replaced by section 150 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992). The Labour Government did float the idea of raising the age addition in their discussion document, \u2018A Happier Old Age\u2019 in 1978.<\/p>\n \u201cIn May 2012 there were some 3.2 million pensioners aged 80 and over. This would put the annual cost of the 25 pence age addition at some \u00a341 million. If the 25 pence age addition had been increased by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) since its introduction in 1971, it would now be around \u00a33.20 per week. The annual additional cost of increasing it to that amount would be around \u00a3500 million.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernments of both parties have generally resisted suggestions that the age addition should be increased, either arguing that greater priority should be given to maintaining or increasing the basic rate of benefit, or choosing to target additional resources on older pensioners by other means, for example, through means-tested benefits or lump sum payments, such as the Winter Fuel Payment<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n