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The state pension will rise by £488.80 a year from April 2027, budget documents have confirmed.
Each year, the state pension goes up thanks to the 'triple lock'. This means payments are guaranteed to increase by either September's inflation figure, average earnings growth between May and July, or 2.5% – whichever is higher.
This year's inflation figure sat at 3.5%, which was lower than wage growth. This means the state pension will rise by 3.9% in April next year.
This increase means the state pension will surpass the personal tax allowance for the first time. However, the Budget revealed plans to ensure that those who rely solely on the state pension will not pay tax.
Here, Which? explains how much the state pension will pay in 2027 and how to check your state pension forecast.
You can claim the state pension when you reach state pension age.
Men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953 can claim the new state pension. Those born before these dates can claim the older basic state pension.
Here's how much the full new state pension and the basic state pension currently pay, and how much they will pay from next April if it rises with wage growth data. Only the new state pension figures have been confirmed in the budget documents so far.
| Year | Weekly payment (2026) | Annual amount (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 (current) | £241.30 | £12,547.60 |
| 2027-28 (3.9% increase) | £250.70 | £13,036.40 |
| Increase of | £9.40 | £488.80 |
| Year | Weekly payment | Annual amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 (current) | £184.90 | £9,614 |
| 2027-28 (3.9% increase) | £192.10 | £9,988.40 |
| Increase of | £7.20 | £374.40 |
The weekly state pension payment is usually rounded to the nearest 5p when the rise is applied.
In this year's Budget, the Chancellor confirmed plans to adjust the state pension triple lock starting in April 2030.
The savings generated by this reform will be used to fund the government's proposed National Care Service, which is expected to launch in 2029.
The triple lock has been in place since 2011, and under Burnham's proposed changes, the wage-growth guarantee will be removed. Instead, pensions will rise by either inflation or 2.5%.
In the years leading up to this, Burnham confirmed that the government will honour its 2024 manifesto pledge to keep the existing triple lock in place for the duration of this parliament. As a result, the state pension triple lock will remain unchanged for the coming years, and a general election is set to take place before the proposed April 2030 rollout.
The state pension is treated in the same way as other types of income for tax purposes. You can earn up to £12,570 during a tax year before any tax is due (known as the personal allowance).
If your total income from all sources – including the state pension – is greater than your personal allowance, then you'll need to pay tax on the amount that exceeds it. This will normally be deducted from any private pension or earnings you have, paid through the PAYE system.
If you have no PAYE income, you have to complete a self-assessment tax return and pay any tax due directly to HMRC.
Next year's state pension increase will take the annual amount over the personal allowance. This means pensioners will pay tax on the portion of income above it.
The state pension is taxed by taking one week at the old rate (£241.30) and 51 weeks at the new rate (£250.70). According to calculations by Lane Clark and Peacock (LCP), this totals £13,027 a year and means someone wholly dependent on the new state pension could pay 20% tax on the excess over the personal allowance, or £91.40.
In the Budget, John Healey confirmed that he will go ahead with Rachel Reeves' plan that those receiving only the state pension, and no other income such as private pensions or rental income, would not pay tax on it.
Under the plan, a Pension Tax Allowance (PTA) will be introduced from next year matching the level of the state pension. It will then be uplifted alongside it each year until 2030, when the policy will be reviewed.
Whether you’re unsure if you have enough to retire, or are already accessing your savings, our money guidance service can talk you through your options. Which? Money members get unlimited access to them via phone.
Find out moreAccording to HMRC research, one in eight adults (12.5%) has never checked their state pension forecast. The main group unlikely to have checked is 45 to 54-year-olds.
HMRC notes that this is concerning as this age range is a 'key time' for retirement planning.
Common reasons for delaying include feeling retirement is still too far away to think about (26%), worrying about losing track of pension pots from previous jobs (24%), and concerns about how career breaks might affect their entitlement (20%).
Some say they simply don’t know how to check their state pension (9.5%) or think it would be too complicated (5%), while 17% say they only think about their pension at major financial moments, such as the start of a new tax year.
If you're eligible for the state pension, you'll receive it when you reach state pension age. This is currently 66 for women and men, but it's due to rise further.
Between 2026 and 2028, it will gradually rise to 67 for those born on or after April 1960, with another gradual rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born in or after 1977.
How much state pension you'll get depends on how many 'qualifying years' of National Insurance contributions you have. For the new state pension, most people need 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record to receive the full amount, and typically 10 years to get anything at all.
To get the full basic state pension, you again need a specific number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions. For men, this is:
For women, this is:
You can receive more than the full level of the new state pension if you built up additional state pension under the old system. This was a top-up to the previous basic state pension and was also known as the state second pension (S2P) or state earnings-related pension scheme (Serps).
If you haven't yet reached state pension age, you can use an online government tool to check your state pension forecast. This will tell you how much you can get, when you can start receiving payments, and whether you can increase them.
This story has been updated since it was first published to include the Budget's confirmation of the state pension payment rise on 28 October 2026.
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