State pensioners across the UK can get a £176 per week benefit from Monday, April 7, as new payment rates take effect.

State Pension rates increase at the start of every new tax year on April 6 and the amount it goes up is based on three factors, known as the ‘triple lock’. These factors include the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation (measured for September in the previous year), average wage growth between May and July of the previous year, or 2.5%. Whichever is the highest out of these three factors determines pension rates for the new tax year.

For the new 2025/26 tax year, which began on April 6, both the basic and new State Pensions have been uprated by 4.1% in line with the annual increase in the average weekly earnings index for May to July 2024.

As the UK’s State Pension system is split into two different schemes – basic and new – the amount extra you’ll get in pension payments from this month depends on when you retired.

For those who get the basic State Pension, the full weekly payment rate has increased by 4.1% to £176.45 per week – up from £169.50 in 2024/25.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), this weekly payment rise is worth an additional £360 a year, if you get the full rate. Those who do get the full rate will get £9,175.40 over the course of a year – £2,797.60 less annually than those who get the full new State Pension.

The DWP said: “Those in receipt of the State Pension and other uprated benefits will see an increase in their next payments following Monday 7 April.

“With uprating in effect, pensioners receiving the full basic State Pension will see their weekly payments rise from £169.50 to £176.45 per week, worth an additional £360 a year. In addition, the full rate of the new State Pension will increase from £221.20 to £230.25 per week, an increase of £470 a year.”

Men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953, are eligible to claim the basic State Pension. Anyone born on or after these dates will claim the new State Pension

According to UK Parliament, an estimated 8.57 million pensioners were claiming the basic State Pension in the 2024/25 tax year, while only 4.38 million were new State Pension claimants.

How much basic State Pension you get depends on your National Insurance record. To get the full rate of £176.45 per week, a man will usually need 30 qualifying years if you were born between 1945 and 1951, or 44 qualifying years if you were born before 1945.

By comparison, a woman will usually need 30 qualifying years if you were born between 1950 and 1953, or 39 qualifying years if you were born before 1950 to get the full rate.

If you have fewer than the full number of qualifying years, your basic State Pension will be less than £176.45 per week.