UK pensioners may see bigger pension rise in 2026, frozen abroad

New data from the Office for National Statistics suggests millions of UK pensioners are likely to receive a larger State Pension increase in April 2026, but nearly half a million people of State Pension age living abroad will not benefit because their payments are frozen. The ONS revised total average earnings growth, including bonuses, for the year to July to 4.8 percent, a figure that, under the Government's Triple Lock, is now the frontrunner to determine next year's uprating.

Under the Triple Lock, State Pensions rise each April by whichever is highest of annual average earnings growth from May to July, the Consumer Prices Index inflation rate in the year to September, or 2.5 percent. The latest CPI was 3.8 percent in August and the September figure that finalises the calculation is due on October 22. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will confirm the official uprating at the Autumn Budget on November 26.

If earnings growth is used, the full New State Pension is projected to increase to about £231.80 a week, roughly £12,548 a year, and the full Basic State Pension to around £184.90 a week. Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said, "This has...