State Pensions

Hundreds of thousands more retirees, mainly women, have been found to have been underpaid their state pension, with the collective shortfall running to £1.5 billion, according to new Government figures. Here's how to check if you've been affected.

Millions will see benefit payments, such as universal credit and child benefit, rise from today under an uplift for the new financial year. If your family income is under £30,000 and you're not in receipt of any state support - it's worth spending 10 minutes to check if you're due benefits.

Friends or relatives can ignore requests by the Government to return overpaid state pension payments in the event of the recipient's death, as there is no legal obligation to pay the money back. 

An administrative error that resulted in decades of state pension underpayments, particularly for women, has been called a "shameful shambles" by a public spending watchdog. But if you think you've been affected and underpaid it's important you check to see if you are owed money.

More than 10 million pensioners could see their state pension rise by £5.55/wk from April 2022 after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that inflation stood at 3.1% in the year to September - a figure that is typically used to calculate the following year's state pension increase.

The state pension will rise by a smaller amount next April as the Government has announced plans to temporarily suspend its so-called 'triple lock', which guarantees how much the benefit will rise by each year. But the change needs to be approved by Parliament first.

State pensions are expected to rise by 2.5% next April under the 'triple lock' guarantee – meaning an increase of about £230/year for those receiving the new state pension in full.

The official state pension age has now hit 66 – and is set to rise further in the coming years.

State pensions are set to rise by 3.9% from next April – the biggest increase since 2012. 

From today, women in the UK will be eligible for the state pension at the same age as men.