State Pension Due Bumper Increase 8.5% April 2024

The Office for National Statistics has released figures today showing that total pay including bonuses in the UK increased by 8.5% pa and outstripped inflation for the first time since March 2022.  On Monday 18^th the ONS is then due to release information for consumer prices inflation that is forecast to fall.

Why is this news important? Triple Lock

September’s inflation figures are linked to state pensions and many other benefits increases in April 2024.  The triple lock is still in place and means that pensioners receive an increase in their state pensions by the higher of:

• Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation in September (published in October).
• National Average Earnings Index (NAEI) increases for May to July (published in September).
• 2.5% pa.

CPI is already down to 6.8% for July (published in August) and new figures due for August will be published on Monday.  We are expecting further falls with Deutsche Bank forecasting 4.6% pa by the end of the year so a state pension increase using average earnings figures will likely be used.

Comment

With a 10.1% pay rise last in April 2023 for state pensions, another rise of 8.5% in April 2024 will be welcome news as well as pensioners getting ever higher interest rates on their cash savings as well as boosters for winter fuel payments due soon as well as cost of living grants, we hope make things a little better for our older community.

15/09/23 Added after Original News Article:  Word of Caution:  In A BBC Radio 4 Interview, Mel Stride, Works and Pensions Secretary did not commit to the 8.5% increase and it is rumoured that the Government may remove bonuses from the National Average Earnings figure to basic income only and this would reduce the NAEI from 8.5% pa to around 7.8% pa.