The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed how benefits will rise from April 2026, and for millions at or above State Pension age, the changes will see a sizable rise in their payments.

From the DWP State Pension increases to Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit, here’s what the 2026/27 uprating means in pounds and pence from next month.

For a pensioner on the full New State Pension plus higher-rate Attendance Allowance, weekly income could rise by over £15 combined, delivering roughly £780 extra a year before any Pension Credit adjustments.

The State Pension

At the heart of retirement income is the State Pension and in April 2026 it rises again.

New State Pension

  • 2025/26: £230.25 per week
  • 2026/27: £241.30 per week
  • Increase: £11.05 weekly (around £575 extra a year)

Basic (Old) State Pension

  • Category A or B:

    • 2025/26: £176.45

    • 2026/27: £184.90

  • Category B (lower) / Category C or D:

    • 2025/26: £105.70

    • 2026/27: £110.75

For those still receiving Additional Pension, the maximum (own and inherited) rises from £222.10 to £230.54 .

While the percentage uplift sits below last year’s surge, the cash gain remains significant — particularly for pensioners reliant on the full New State Pension.

Pension Credit

For lower-income pensioners, Pension Credit increases. It is also gateway benefit, which can help claimants to access other key benenefits.

Standard Minimum Guarantee

  • Single: £227.10 → £238.00
  • Couple: £346.60 → £363.25

Severe Disability Addition

  • Single: £82.90 → £86.05
  • Couple (both qualify): £165.80 → £172.10

Carer Addition

  • £46.40 → £48.15

Savings Credit

  • Threshold (single): £198.27 → £208.07
  • Maximum (single): £17.30 → £17.96

Attendance Allowance

For those needing help with personal care, Attendance Allowance rises as follows:

  • Higher rate: £110.40 → £114.60
  • Lower rate: £73.90 → £76.70

That equates to an annual increase of:

  • £218 extra (higher rate)
  • £145 extra (lower rate)

Disability and Ill-Health Payments

Though many working-age claimants now receive Personal Independence Payment, some pensioners remain on legacy benefits.

Disability Living Allowance (Care Component)

  • Highest: £110.40 → £114.60
  • Middle: £73.90 → £76.70
  • Lowest: £29.20 → £30.30

Personal Independence Payment (Daily Living)

  • Enhanced: £110.40 → £114.60
  • Standard: £73.90 → £76.70

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Standard 100% rate:

  • £225.30 → £233.90

Constant Attendance Allowance (exceptional rate)

  • £180.40 → £187.20

For older claimants with industrial injuries or severe disability, these adjustments can add several hundred pounds annually.

Bereavement Support

Widowed Parent’s Allowance

  • £150.90 → £156.65

However, Bereavement Support Payment lump sums remain frozen:

  • Standard lump sum: £2,500 (no change)
  • Higher lump sum: £3,500 (no change)

Carer’s Allowance

Many pension-age households include an unpaid carer.

  • Carer’s Allowance: £83.30 → £86.45
  • Earnings limit rises from £196 → £204 per week

Housing Benefit and Pension-Age Personal Allowances

For claimants over State Pension age:

  • Single/lone parent (State Pension age or over):
    £244.40 → £256.00
  • Couple (State Pension age or over):
    £366.00 → £383.35

Dependent child allowance:

  • £84.66 → £87.88

Severe disability premium:

  • Single: £82.90 → £86.05

What hasn’t changed

Some limits remain frozen:

  • Benefit Cap: No change
  • Capital upper limit (means-tested benefits): £16,000
  • Capital disregard: £6,000
  • Pension Credit upper capital limit: No limit
  • Addition at age 80 (State Pension): 25p (unchanged)

Freezes in lump sums and capital limits quietly offset the headline weekly rises.

What is the Triple Lock?

Much of this is boosted by the Triple Lock. It guarantees that the UK State Pension rises each year by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%, ensuring pensions maintain or increase in real terms.

For example, in April 2026, the new State Pension is set to rise by 4.8%, reflecting the highest of these measures, increasing from £230.25 to £241.30 per week, while the full basic State Pension rises from £176.45 to £184.90 per week.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) found recently that, due to inflation and earnings volatility, the triple lock has cost around three times more than initial expectations.

Uprating using the triple lock rather than earnings alone will have added £15.5 billion to the State Pension bill annually by the end of the decade (2029-30), the budget watchdog estimated.

According to the Treasury’s Budget, the Government’s “commitment to the triple lock for the duration of this Parliament” will “support the incomes of over 12 million pensioners”.