State Pension Top Up Extension and Increases for 2023/24

Time is running out to check your State Pension entitlement based on your National Insurance (NI) record and top up your State Pension if you need additional NI credits and are able to do this. Due to the transitional arrangements between the Basic State Pension and the New State Pension, you may find that your State Pension can be increased.

You can sometimes pay for gaps from more than six years ago, depending on your age if you are a man born after 5 April 1951, or a woman born after 5 April 1953 for gaps between tax years April 2006 and April 2016.

Due to the popularity of these top ups, the Government have announced that the deadline to top up your state pension has now been extended from 5th April 2023 to 31st July 2023, so please ensure that you check this directly with the Department of Work and Pensions (‘DWP’). This will enable you to make the most efficient state pension top up if needed, and this usually represents an incredibly good deal in comparison to private provision of secure income from annuities. If there are gaps in your state pension record, some top ups can be made by just ensuring that you have received the right credits throughout your lifetime, for example if you were unemployed or qualified as a carer for periods of your lifetime.

You should firstly check your personal forecast and record at Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) to see what your individual records say and contact the DWP directly if this shows that your State Pension provision can be improved. Please note that it is always important to contact the State Pension helpline before committing to paying extra contributions or if there are further queries.

Contact details can be found at Contact the Future Pension Centre - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), but have been included below for ease:

Future Pension Centre helpline

Telephone: 0800 731 0175
Telephone from outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 3600
Welsh language telephone: 0800 731 0175

Textphone: 0800 731 0176
Textphone from outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 2051
Welsh language textphone: 0800 731 0456

Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 731 0175

British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet

You can also write to: The Pension Service 9, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LU, United Kingdom

State Pension Increases for 2023/24

We all know that inflation fuelled by the increase in utilities and food prices has had an impact on the cost of living for many people, and this includes pensioners, who may be reliant on their state pension to make payments.

However, the government have honoured their commitment to the triple lock for 2023/24 and will be increasing several benefits from April 2023 as below:

• The full rate of the new State Pension will increase from £185.15 to £203.85 a week

• The basic State Pension will increase from £141.85 to £156.20 a week

In addition, there have been further increases announced to state benefits, including the following:

• The Standard Minimum Guarantee for a couple in Pension Credit will increase from £278.70 to £306.85 a week

• The enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment will increase from £92.40 to £101.75 a week

• The Universal Credit standard allowance for a couple where one or both are over 25 will increase from £525.72 to £578.82 a month; the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity amount will increase from £354.28 to £390.06 a month; and the child element for those born on or after 6 April 2017 will increase from £244.58 to £269.58 a month.

This decision will increase expenditure on State Pensions and pensioner benefits by £13 billion in 2023/24, compared to no change in these rates for the same period. It will meet the Government’s manifesto commitment to apply the Triple Lock to the new and basic State Pensions. It will, also, extend CPI protection to those who rely on the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit at a cost of £700 million above the statutory minimum requirement.

CAM has also have produced a handy factsheet which can be found here.