State pensioners will be handed £11 extra every seven days thanks to the triple lock change set to take effect from April.

The triple lock is the system in place which dictates how much extra money state pensioners get given every year in order to maintain the spending power of the state pension benefit from the DWP.

The ‘triple’ element refers to the three metrics which make up the system. State pensions must increase every April by either the same as inflation, wage growth or a flat 2.5%, whichever of the three is highest.

This year, wage growth is the highest of the three, at 4.8%, therefore state pensioners are being given up to £575 extra per year.

State pensioners on the new state pension (so retired post-2016) and who have a full qualifying National Insurance record (ie no gaps in their work history, and roughly 35 years of work), will get the full state pension amount and the biggest increase.

The full new state pension will increase by a maximum of £575, taking payments to £241.30, up from £230.25.

That means state pensioners on the new state pension will be paid an extra £11.05 every week, all year, giving them a total of £12,547.60 by the end of the year.

Older state pensioners on the basic state pension will get the same 4.8% increase but their payments go from £176.45 to £184.90, which is an £8.45 per week boost.

Crucially, both sets of pension payments are still under the £12,570 Personal Allowance threshold. It means that those who have only the state pension income will not face tax bills or losing any of the payment to tax in the upcoming financial year.

In 2027, it is expected that the state pension will exceed the threshold, which is why Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an exemption for state pensioners who have no other income – ie those who only have the state pension will not lose any of it to tax, though the exact details of this are yet to be shared.

Pension Credit is also being increased this April too. The pension age benefit is useful for older state pensioners (though new state pensioners with an incomplete NI record can also claim it), to boost their DWP pension income. For example, an older state pensioner who only qualifies for the basic state pension will get £184.90 per week. But Pension Credit tops up this amount up to £238 per week, which is only a few pounds less than the new state pension anyway. This has also been increased by 4.8% in line with wage growth.

However, your other income, such as work earnings, property income, savings interest or a private pension, is counted first, and you won’t be able to get the full amount if you have exceeded income limits.