State Retirement Pensions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of the difference between the rates of the (a) basic state pension and (b) new state pension on pensioners; and whether the Department has considered the potential merits of equalising these rates.
Answered by Torsten Bell
The Government has made a commitment to the Triple Lock for the entirety of this Parliament which will mean spending on people’s State Pensions is forecast to rise by over £31 billion.
It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between State Pension amounts under the new State Pension and the pre 2016 State Pension systems. While the headline full basic State Pension is £169.50 per week (2024/25 rates), people under the pre 2016 system may also receive Additional State Pension. If instead they had been contracted-out of the Additional State Pension, they will also have a workplace or private pension
It is also the case that not everyone under the new State Pension system will receive the full headline amount of £221.20 per week. Although the systems are different, they both reflect the National Insurance contributions an individual has made. This is reflected in the average amounts that people receive.
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