MILLIONS of state pensioners will see their payments rise by hundreds of pounds from next April.
Fresh figures released earlier this month revealed the benefit will increase by up to £472 annually.
The state pension generally rises every year based on the triple lock system.
This sees payments increase based on whatever is highest out of wages for the previous May to July, 2.5% or the previous September’s inflation figures.
Revised statistics released this month revealed the growth in employees’ average total pay was 4.1% in the three months to July.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shared the following day showed inflation rose by 1.7% in September.
That means as the wage figures are the higher of the three, the state pension will go up by 4.1% next April.
The current full new state pension is worth £11,502.40 a year, with a 4.1% rise seeing this go up to £11,973.99 – around £472 more a year.
It’s worth noting, your state pension will only go up this much if receive the maximum amount, currently £221.20 a week.
You receive this if you have the maximum number of National Insurance contributions (NICs) which is usually 35 years.
So, if you don’t have 35 qualifying years, yours will rise by less than £472 a year.
Figures crunched by AJ Bell reveal how much your new state pension could rise from next April based on your NI record though.
The financial company’s data shows if you have ten qualifying NI years – the minimum needed to get any state pension at all – your weekly payment will go up from £63.20 to £65.79, or £134.68 more a year.
Someone with 15 will see their payments rise from £94.80 a week to £98.69 a week, of £202.28 extra a year.
A pensioner with 25 NI years will see their weekly state pension go up from £158 to £164.48 – £336.96 over the course of the year.
Meanwhile, someone with 30 NI years will see their yearly payment rise by £404.04, or £7.77 extra a week.
See our table below for how much your new state pension will rise based on your NI record.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm the state pension will rise by 4.1% during the Budget on Wednesday.
Just an extra 0.1% adds around £100million to the Government’s state pension bill.
Anyone who retired before April 2016 will also see their weekly payments rise from next April, but by less.
Those who retired before this date get the basic state pension, which is currently worth £169.50 a week.
This will rise to £176.45 a week from next April, an annual rise of £361.
To receive the full amount of basic state pension, you only need 30 qualifying NI years as opposed to 35.
The headline rate for the basic state pension is lower than the new state pension because you can receive additional payments on top through SERPS or private pensions.
The increase in the state pension from next year comes as the Government comes under fire for its decision to axe the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners.
Ministers have means-tested the annual up to £300 payment meaning only those on certain benefits will get it this winter.
You can check your National Insurance record online via www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record.
The website lets you check how much NI you’ve paid from the start of the current tax year.
You can also see if your NI record has any gaps in it meaning you won’t receive the full state pension.
Not only that, but your online account lets you see if you can boost your state pension by paying voluntary contributions and how your payments will change based on filling any gaps.
The website also tells you how much it will cost to fill in any gaps in your NI record.
You will need your Government Gateway user ID and password ready to login.
If you want to find out how much your weekly state pension payments are, you will have to contact the Pension Service.
You can call the service on 0800 731 0469 or write to it via:
In any case, you can find out how much your state pension payments are by logging into your online banking and checking for any payments.
State pension payments are usually made every four weeks.
The exact day of the week your pension is paid depends on your NI number.
If the last two digits are from 00 to 19 you will get paid on a Monday, if they are 20 to 39 you will be paid on a Tuesday.
If they are between 40 and 59 you will get paid on a Wednesday, 60 to 79 it’s a Thursday and if it’s 80 to 99 you get paid on a Friday.
You won’t automatically get the state pension – you need to claim it once you’re eligible.
You should receive a letter no later than two months before you reach state pension age, explaining what to do.
You can find out more here.
You can choose to defer getting the state pension – you don’t have to take it as soon as you are eligible when you reach state pension age.
Leaving your state pension untouched can boost the amount you eventually get.
If you opt to defer your state pension, your entitlement increases by the equivalent of 1% for every five weeks you do so.
This will help you get your head around how much you could be eligible to receive, and from what age.
AT the moment the current state pension is paid to both men and women from age 66 - but it's due to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.
The state pension is a recurring payment from the government most Brits start getting when they reach State Pension age.
But not everyone gets the same amount, and you are awarded depending on your National Insurance record.
For most pensioners, it forms only part of their retirement income, as they could have other pots from a workplace pension, earning and savings.
The new state pension is based on people’s National Insurance records.
Workers must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the maximum amount of the new state pension.
You earn National Insurance qualifying years through work, or by getting credits, for instance when you are looking after children and claiming child benefit.
If you have gaps, you can top up your record by paying in voluntary National Insurance contributions.
To get the old, full basic state pension, you will need 30 years of contributions or credits.
You will need at least 10 years on your NI record to get any state pension.
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