State Pension to rise 4.7% to about £12,535 from April 2026

Millions of state pensioners in the UK are set to receive a 4.7 percent increase to their payments from April 2026, a rise driven by wage growth under the government's triple lock policy that will lift the full new State Pension to about £12,535 a year, officials and pension experts said. The increase, worth roughly £562 annually or about £241 a week, will take effect next April if confirmed at the Autumn Budget on November 26.

The triple lock guarantees that State Pensions rise each year by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, Consumer Prices Index inflation or 2.5 percent. This year the earnings measure, reported at 4.7 percent, is expected to determine the uprating. The final figure will depend on published inflation and official budget decisions later this month and in November.

While the rise will boost incomes for many retired people, it also brings a policy consequence: the full new State Pension will approach the personal allowance for income tax, which is frozen at £12,570 until at least 2028. As a result, analysts and campaigners warn that larger numbers of pensioners who rely solely on the State Pension could begin to pay income tax for the first time, a...