Pensioners who receive the old state pension have been able to boost their income by thousands of pounds.
Hundreds of Brits receive a state pension of over £36,000. (Image: Getty)
Over 300 British retirees have boosted their state pension by three times the full amount, calculations based on Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) data show. Under the current full state pension, triple lock guarantees Brits £230.25 a week, or £11,973 a year. However, under the older system, 324 pensioners have been able to increase this to at least £692.30 a week, which equates to £36,000 a year.
The hundreds of individuals receiving the higher amount have retired before April 2016, meaning they get the old state pension. Due to certain complexities in the pre-2016 system, many retirees have been able to boost their pension pot to significantly higher amounts. Around 8.4 million Brits receive the old state pension, which is nearly double the amount of people on the new state pension – 4.6million.
Around 8.4 million Brits receive the old state pension. (Image: Getty)
Despite the old basic state pension being £2,800 less a year than the new payment amounts, retirees get an income through another earnings-related pension.
This is commonly referred to as Serps, and allows pensioners to draw an additional £222.10 a week.
Another method pre-2016 pensioners are using to increase their allowances include delaying the start date for receiving the old state pension. Previously, this meant that the starting amount would increase by 10.4% each year that it is delayed – this has since been nearly halved to 5.8%.
Sir Steve Webb, who served as pensions minister and oversaw the 2016 changes, told The Telegraph: “These figures are a reminder that outcomes under the old state pension system could vary hugely, with some people receiving very large pensions and others very small ones.
“In particular, some people with very large entitlements to the additional state pension on top of their basic pension could have pensions of £300 per week or more, significantly higher than the standard rate of the new state pension.
“In the future, it will not be possible to build up state pensions this large, but there are significant numbers of people who retired before 2016 who will continue to enjoy pensions above the new flat rate.”
