Ministers have confirmed a 4.8% uprating of the State Pension from Monday 6 April 2026 under the Triple Lock. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says more than 12 million pensioners will benefit, with those on the full new State Pension set to receive up to £575 more over the year. (hansard.parliament.uk)
The full rate of the new State Pension increases from £230.25 to £241.30 per week, while the full basic State Pension rises from £176.45 to £184.90. These rates apply from 6 April 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Pension Credit’s Standard Minimum Guarantee is uprated by 4.8% to £238.00 a week for single pensioners and £363.25 for couples. Pension Credit also unlocks wider help such as Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit support and, for those aged 75+, a free TV licence, which local authorities and GOV.UK guidance continue to highlight. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Most working‑age benefits and related statutory payments, including Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay, rise by 3.8% in line with September 2025 CPI. This CPI‑linked increase also applies to disability and carers’ benefits. (hansard.parliament.uk)
The Triple Lock applies to the core new and basic State Pension amounts only. Other State Pension components, such as Additional Pension and protected payments, rise by 3.8% with prices, so individual awards may increase by a blend of the two rates rather than the full 4.8%. (hansard.parliament.uk)
Universal Credit (UC) sees a separate change: the standard allowance is uprated by CPI plus an additional uplift set in law. For 2026/27 this adds 2.3 percentage points on top of CPI, delivering a rise of just over 6% to the basic UC amount under the Universal Credit Act 2025. (legislation.gov.uk)
UC’s health element is rebalanced from 6 April 2026. New claimants receive £217.26 per month, while existing LCWRA recipients and defined protected groups continue on a higher rate of £429.80 per month, with protections set out by DWP. (gov.uk)
Parliamentary papers put the uprating cost from the Social Security Benefits Up‑rating Order 2026 at £9 billion in 2026/27 (£6bn state pensions and pensioner benefits; £2bn disability and carers; £1bn working‑age). A further £2 billion for working‑age benefits arises from the separate Universal Credit Act 2025 changes, taking the total impact to £11 billion. (hansard.parliament.uk)
The government frames these increases alongside wider living‑cost measures. From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage rises to £12.71 for workers aged 21+, and ministers expect average household energy bills to fall by around £150 this year. Regulated rail fares in England are frozen for one year from March 2026 and NHS prescription charges in England remain frozen at £9.90; the two‑child limit in UC is removed from 6 April 2026. (gov.uk)
For planning purposes, the new State Pension at £241.30 a week equates to roughly £12,548 a year, which remains just under the 2026/27 income‑tax personal allowance of £12,570. HM Treasury has also signalled it will remove the need for pensioners with small state‑pension‑only tax liabilities to settle them via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. (gov.uk)
Headline figures mask important distributional points for advisers and local services. Uprating protects the floor for the poorest pensioners via Pension Credit and maintains disability and carers’ support in real terms via CPI, while UC’s above‑inflation rise shifts more value into the basic allowance. Organisations should update benefit calculators, payroll and incomes models to reflect the 6 April 2026 start date. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Officials and ministers continue to cite the cumulative effect of Triple Lock increases across the Parliament, with written answers and debates referencing potential gains of up to £2,100 a year for those on the full new State Pension by the end of the term. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)