The UK state pension in 2026/27: a 4.8% triple lock rise to £241.30
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For the 2026/27 tax year the triple lock delivered a 4.8% rise, again on earnings growth rather than prices. Here is the confirmed weekly rate, verified against DWP, and what it is worth over a year.
The full new State Pension rises 4.8% for the 2026/27 tax year, from £230.25 to £241.30 a week — about £12,547.60 a year for someone with a full National Insurance record. The figure is confirmed by the Department for Work and Pensions, not estimated: it follows the same triple lock mechanism that set last year's rise, and once again it is earnings growth, rather than inflation, that produced the number. Both the confirmed rate and which of the three measures drove it are worth checking directly, rather than carrying forward an earlier forecast.
The confirmed 2026/27 rates
Two separate State Pension figures apply, depending on when someone reached state pension age:
| Pension type | 2025/26 rate | 2026/27 rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full new State Pension | £230.25/wk | £241.30/wk | +4.8% |
| Full basic State Pension | £176.45/wk | £184.90/wk | +4.8% |
The new State Pension applies to people who reached state pension age on or after 6 April 2016; the basic State Pension applies to those who reached it before that date, usually alongside a separate additional entitlement. Both figures rose by the identical 4.8%, since the triple lock applies the same percentage to each. The confirmed rate for the full new State Pension is stated directly on GOV.UK's new State Pension guidance, and both figures are set out in the Department for Work and Pensions' benefit and pension rates for 2026 to 2027.
Why earnings set the rise again, not inflation
The triple lock raises the State Pension each April by whichever is highest of three measures: growth in average earnings (measured May to July of the previous year), CPI inflation (measured to the previous September), or a 2.5% floor. For the 2026/27 uprating, average earnings growth came in at 4.8%, ahead of September 2025 CPI inflation of 3.8% and comfortably ahead of the 2.5% floor. That makes three years running in which earnings growth, rather than inflation, has set the increase — a reminder that the mechanism does not favour either measure permanently. Whichever of the three happens to be highest in a given year is the one that applies, and that has now been earnings growth every year since 2024/25.
What the rise adds over a year
A weekly figure understates what an annual change is actually worth, so it is worth converting:
| Period | Weekly | Annual (52 weeks) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/26, full new State Pension | £230.25 | £11,973 |
| 2026/27, full new State Pension | £241.30 | £12,547.60 |
The difference is £574.60 over the year for someone on the full new rate — a larger cash increase than the 2025/26 rise despite a broadly similar percentage, simply because the rise is applied to an already larger base. For the full basic State Pension, the annual figure moves from £9,175.40 to £9,614.80, a difference of £439.40.
Why not everyone receives the full amount
Both headline figures are the maximum, paid only to someone with a full qualifying National Insurance record — typically 35 qualifying years for the new State Pension, with a minimum of 10 years required for any payment at all. Someone with fewer qualifying years receives a proportionally reduced amount, and someone who was contracted out of the additional State Pension for part of their working life may see a further adjustment to their new State Pension figure specifically, calculated under transitional rules that applied when the new system replaced the old one in April 2016. Checking an individual entitlement against the headline rate above means looking at a personal State Pension forecast, rather than assuming the maximum applies by default.
How the triple lock has moved in recent years
The size of the annual rise varies a great deal depending on which of the three measures wins in a given year:
| Tax year | Rise | Measure that applied |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | +8.5% | Earnings growth |
| 2025/26 | +4.1% | Earnings growth |
| 2026/27 | +4.8% | Earnings growth |
Earnings growth has now set the increase for three years in a row, at three noticeably different percentages — there is no pattern that reliably predicts how large the next year's earnings-growth figure will be, even when it is the same measure driving the rise each time. That is exactly the point of having three separate measures rather than one: whichever moves furthest in a given year sets the rise, without needing to forecast in advance which that will be, or by how much. Looking back a little further, the 2023/24 rise was set by CPI inflation instead, at 10.1%, following the inflation spike of 2022 — a reminder that the earnings-led run since 2024/25 is a recent pattern rather than a permanent feature of how the triple lock behaves.
Using the rise in retirement planning
A State Pension increase is guaranteed income, which makes it a useful fixed input alongside anything drawn from private savings or a workplace pension. The retirement income calculator combines a guaranteed figure like the confirmed 2026/27 State Pension rate with a separate portfolio withdrawal, which reflects how most retirees' income is actually structured rather than treating either source in isolation. Building a plan around the current confirmed rate, rather than an assumed future triple lock rise, avoids the common mistake of banking an increase that has not yet been confirmed. Anyone still some years from state pension age can use the same confirmed weekly rate as a stable baseline for a retirement projection, then treat any future upratings as a bonus on top of that baseline rather than something the plan depends on.
What to check before relying on these figures
- Confirm your own qualifying years and any contracted-out adjustment through your personal State Pension forecast, since the figures above are the maximum only.
- The triple lock is a policy commitment rather than a constitutional guarantee, reviewed by whichever government is in office — it has applied consistently since 2011, but its continuation beyond the current Parliament is not fixed in law indefinitely.
- State Pension income is taxable alongside other income, even though it is paid without tax deducted at source — a private pension or continued earnings on top of it can create an unexpected tax bill if the combined total is not accounted for.
- The state pension age itself is a separate question from the weekly amount discussed here, and is scheduled to rise further in the coming years under a published timetable.
Sources
- GOV.UK: New State Pension — what you'll get
- Department for Work and Pensions: Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
This is general information, not financial advice. Individual entitlement depends on your own National Insurance record. For a decision about your own retirement income, check your State Pension forecast on GOV.UK or speak to a regulated financial adviser.