Older state pensioners can get a cash boost of up to £5,759 per year from April with a single claim to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP pays an ‘over 80 pension‘ to eligible retirees aged 80 or over who have a basic State Pension of less than £105.70 per week, or no basic State Pension at all. You’ll get the basic State Pension if you’re a man born before April 6, 1951, or a woman born before April 6, 1953, and the full rate is currently worth £176.45 per week. But State Pension rates are due to increase from April 6, with the DWP confirming the new weekly payments for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, which will give pensioners an extra boost of cash from next month.

The over 80 pension, also known as Category D – non-contributory pension, is due to rise from £105.70 to £110.75 from April, giving eligible pensioners an extra £5.05 per week. So from the start of the new tax year on April 6, pensioners over 80 whose weekly State Pension payments are less than £110.75 can top up their earnings by claiming the over 80 pension.

The over 80 pension is not a separate weekly payment, but rather a top-up to your existing basic State Pension which is usually paid every four weeks.

It means that pensioners entitled to the over 80 pension can get up to £110.75 per week from the DWP from April to boost their pension pot, which amounts to an extra £5,759 per year.

If you’re eligible, the amount you’ll get depends on how much basic State Pension you get (if any), but if it’s less than £105.70 per week (or £110.75 from April) you could get the difference paid up to this amount.

So claiming this pension can give you up to £110.75 every week in the 2026 to 2027 tax year, or £5,759 annually, which amounts to an overall boost of up to £262.60 extra per year when the new rates take effect.

But this pension is only available to people aged 80 or over and you can’t claim it if you reached State Pension age on or after April 6, 2016.

This pension is only available to people aged 80 or over and you can’t claim it if you reached State Pension age – which is currently 66 years old for both men and women – on or after April 6, 2016.

You must have been a UK resident for at least 10 years out of a 20-year period, which must include the day before you turned 80 or any day after, or you were ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar on your 80th birthday, or the date you submitted your claim for the over 80 pension. The earliest you can claim is three months before your 80th birthday.

The DWP says: “The over 80 pension is a State Pension for people aged 80 or over. To be eligible, you must get either a basic State Pension of less than £105.70 a week, or no basic State Pension at all.

“It can give you £105.70 a week in the 2025 to 2026 tax year. What you get depends on how much basic State Pension you get, if any. If you do not get the basic State Pension or you get less than £105.70 a week, you could get the difference paid up to this amount.

“You cannot get the over 80 pension if you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.”

Unlike the basic and new State Pension schemes, your eligibility for the over 80 pension isn’t based on National Insurance contributions. Claimants should also note that the over 80 pension counts as taxable income, so if you’re claiming any other benefits these could be affected.

You can apply for the scheme by requesting a claim form from your local Jobcentre Plus, or by calling the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898. The earliest you can submit a claim is up to three months before your 80th birthday, or any time after.