Many state pensioners won’t get a boost to their state pension payments in April after all thanks to a quirk of how the pension payments are timed.
It has been announced that state pensioners will benefit from another triple lock boost this April, increasing the full new state pension payment by 4.8% to £241.30 a week, up from the current £230.25.
For basic state pensioners, who retired before 2016, they will also receive a 4.8% boost, though their overall payments are lower, rising from £176.45 to £184.90.
The increase is set to take effect from April, for the new tax year 2026-2027. However, the changes are put in place from April 6, the day the actual tax year begins, not April 1.
The state pension is only paid once every four weeks, so any state pensioners who are due to receive their state pension between April 1 and April 3 will not see the boosted state pension amount until their next payment in late April or early May, the first payment they will receive since the increase. Those who are due to receive their state pension payment on Friday, April 3 will still get the old, lower amount, and then have to wait four weeks until Friday, May 1 to receive the new, boosted amount.
Pensioners can determine their usual State Pension payment day by looking for the two-digit code at the end of their National Insurance number, as this specifies the date on which payments are normally issued. This is how National Insurance numbers correspond to payment days:
00 to 19 – paid on Monday
20 to 39 – paid on Tuesday
40 to 59 – paid on Wednesday
60 to 79 – paid on Thursday
80 to 99 – paid on Friday
The DWP explains: “You’ll be asked when you want to start getting your State Pension when you claim. Your first payment will be no later than 5 weeks after the date you choose. You’ll get a full payment every 4 weeks after that.”
State pension payments on their own will not increase enough to take a pensioner over the Personal Allowance threshold for income tax in 2026-27. The threshold, which has been frozen since 2021, remains at £12,570 and this is the amount you can earn without paying any income tax.
The full new state pension will be worth £12,547.60 per year, still under the threshold, though those who don’t get their first payment until later on won’t necessarily get as close to it.
However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that those who only receive state pension income and no other income will not have to pay tax on their benefit if they exceed the threshold in future, though precise workings of the scheme have yet to be fully unveiled.
