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State Pension increase April 2027: new rates and will you pay tax?

State Pension rises by 3.9% from April 2027. See the new amounts, payment dates and how the planned Pension Tax Allowance could affect your tax.

By PayCalc UK · Published

At a glance

The basic and full new State Pension will rise by 3.9% from April 2027. The full new State Pension goes up to £250.70 a week, or £13,036.40 a year. The government says that is around £490 a year more for the full new State Pension and around £375 for the full basic State Pension. [1] [2]

For the first time the full new State Pension will be above the frozen £12,570 Personal Allowance. That does not mean everyone on it gets a tax bill: the government plans a Pension Tax Allowance from 6 April 2027 that clears the tax this alone would create. It is a proposal for Finance Bill 2026-27, not yet law. [2] [5]

This article covers England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland the State Pension is run separately: see nidirect's State Pension forecast page ↗. [11]

Key figures

  • £250.70Full new State Pension a week from April 2027. The announced annual rate over 52 weeks2027/28, per week · PayCalc calculation · Source [2], [1]
  • £13,036.40Full new State Pension a year from April 20272027/28, a year · Announced / subject to legislation · Source [2], [6]
  • £93.28Most the Pension Tax Allowance takes off a year's Income Tax. The published formula; HM Treasury describes it as up to £942027/28, subject to Finance Bill 2026-27 · PayCalc calculation · Source [5], [6]

How much will the State Pension be from April 2027?

Full rates, per week
Full rateNow, 2026/27From April 2027Weekly increaseOver 52 weeks
New State Pension£241.30£250.70£9.40£488.80
Basic State Pension£184.90About £192.10*About £7.20*About £374.40*

The new State Pension figure is the announced annual rate of £13,036.40 divided by 52. [2] [3]

* The basic State Pension figures are our estimate: today's £184.90 raised by 3.9% and rounded to the nearest 5p. DWP has confirmed the percentage and a rise of around £375 a year, but its full list of 2027/28 rates is still to come, so treat £192.10 as provisional. [1] [4]

These are full rates, not what every pensioner gets. Your amount depends on your National Insurance record and the rules for your pension. The 52-week figures compare weekly rates; they are not what reaches your bank account in a particular tax year. [3] [4]

Why 3.9%?

Under the triple lock the basic and full new State Pension rise by the highest of earnings growth, price inflation or 2.5%. This year that is earnings: 3.9%, against 3.5% for CPI inflation. [1]

Not every part of a pension award rises by 3.9%. Additional State Pension, from the old system, goes up by 3.5%. Your uprating letter shows the breakdown. [1]

When does the higher pension start?

DWP says the new rates mainly take effect from 12 April 2027. The planned Pension Tax Allowance starts with the tax year, on 6 April 2027. [1] [5]

That does not mean a bigger payment lands on 12 April. The new State Pension is usually paid every 4 weeks, and your payment day depends on your National Insurance number. [7]

Four weeks is not a calendar month. At £250.70, four full weeks come to £1,002.80. That is a budgeting figure, not a forecast of your first payment at the new rate.

Will you pay tax on the State Pension?

The full new State Pension of £13,036.40 a year is £466.40 above the £12,570 Personal Allowance. [2] [6]

The State Pension is taxable income, but it is not taxed before you get it. Whether you owe tax depends on all your income and the allowances you have. [8]

What is the Pension Tax Allowance?

Despite the name, it is a reduction in your Income Tax bill, not a higher Personal Allowance. Under the published plan: [5] [6]

  • You must be over State Pension age, or reach it in the tax year. You do not need to get the State Pension.
  • Eligibility depends on your total income for Income Tax purposes, whatever its source. Savings interest counts, even if your Personal Savings Allowance covers it. Tax-exempt ISA income does not count.
  • The full allowance applies if your total income is no more than the full new State Pension. It is 20% of the gap between the full new State Pension and the Personal Allowance: £93.28 in 2027/28 under the published formula. HM Treasury describes it as “up to £94”.
  • Above that, it is cut by £1 for every £3 of extra income until nothing is left. HM Treasury gives £13,319 as the guide to where that happens.
  • It can never be more than your tax bill, so it cannot be paid out as cash.
  • HMRC applies it automatically; you do not need to claim. It is planned for 2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30.
HM Treasury's examples for 2027/28

Full new State Pension only, £13,036.40 a year: tax would be 20% of £466.40, or £93.28. The allowance takes all of it off, so there is no Income Tax to pay.

A part State Pension and a small private pension, £12,970 in all: tax would be £80.00. Income is below the full new State Pension, so the allowance clears that too.

With more income the allowance shrinks and then stops, and the rest of your income is taxed as usual. The allowance is calculated at 20% for Scottish taxpayers too, and it cannot be passed to a partner. [6]

How is tax on the State Pension collected?

If you also have a workplace or private pension, or a job, HMRC usually collects the tax through the tax code on that income. If the State Pension is your only income and tax remains payable after any applicable reliefs, HMRC will send you a Simple Assessment bill. If you fill in a Self Assessment return, you include your State Pension in it. [8]

Is the State Pension the same as Pension Credit?

No. The State Pension depends on your National Insurance record. Pension Credit is separate, means-tested help, and for a couple it looks at both partners' income. [3] [9]

The State Pension counts as income for Pension Credit, so a higher State Pension can change a Pension Credit award. The two increases do not simply add up as extra cash. Extra amounts, for example for a severe disability or caring, can mean you qualify even above the standard level. [9]

See our Pension Credit April 2027 article for its new rates. Winter Fuel Payment has its own rules: our Winter Fuel Payment 2026/27 guide explains who gets it this winter.

What to check now

  • Your own forecast. The full rate is a benchmark, not your amount. If your National Insurance record started before April 2016 and you were contracted out, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years for the full new State Pension. [3]
  • All your income. The Pension Tax Allowance depends on your total taxable income, not just your State Pension. ISA income does not count. [5] [6]
  • If you live abroad. Your State Pension only rises each year if you live in the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland or a country with a social security agreement with the UK (not Canada or New Zealand). [10]

Our pension calculator projects a workplace or personal pension pot. It does not work out your State Pension or the Pension Tax Allowance.

What this means for you

  • Check your State Pension forecast: the £250.70 full rate is not a promise of your own amount.
  • If your only income is a State Pension of no more than the full new rate, the planned allowance means no Income Tax on it in 2027/28.
  • With other taxable income, add it all up: HM Treasury puts the end of the allowance at £13,319.

General information, not an individual tax calculation or State Pension forecast. The Pension Tax Allowance is subject to legislation.

Check the official figures for your own case.

Check your State Pension forecast ↗Read the Pension Tax Allowance explainer ↗

Sources and method

Checked 8 November 2026. The 3.9% and 3.5% increases, the 12 April 2027 start and the approximate yearly rises are from the Secretary of State's written statement of 28 October 2026 (HCWS427). The full annual new State Pension of £13,036.40 is from the Government Actuary's Department's Budget 2026 bulletin and HM Treasury's Pension Tax Allowance explainer.

The 2027/28 weekly new State Pension is that annual rate divided by 52. DWP's full list of proposed 2027/28 rates had not been published on 8 November 2026, so the basic State Pension of £192.10 a week is our estimate: £184.90 × 1.039, to the nearest 5p. We will replace it with DWP's figure when the list is out.

Yearly rises compare headline weekly rates over 52 weeks. They are not what reaches your bank account in a tax year, which depends on your payment dates and your own award.

The Pension Tax Allowance is from HMRC's measure note and HM Treasury's explainer of 28 October 2026. It is a proposal for Finance Bill 2026-27, not yet law. Its maximum under the published formula is 20% of the full new State Pension above the Personal Allowance: £93.28. HM Treasury describes it as "up to £94", and its £13,319 end point and its own partial example (£44) do not exactly match the unrounded formula, so we give £13,319 as HM Treasury's guide figure and do not work out a partial allowance. Income inside an ISA does not count towards total income.

Tax examples assume income taxed at 20% above the standard Personal Allowance, UK tax residence and no other reliefs. They are not a tax calculation for any one person. No PayCalc calculator works out State Pension or this allowance.

  1. DWP / UK Parliament, Statutory review of state pension and benefit rates: 2027/28 (HCWS427) ↗, 3.9% for the basic and full new State Pension, around £490 and £375 a year, 3.5% for Additional State Pension, 12 April 2027, full list to follow. Published 28 October 2026. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  2. Government Actuary's Department, Budget 2026: a GAD technical bulletin ↗, Full annual rate of the new State Pension from April 2027. Published 30 October 2026. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  3. GOV.UK, The new State Pension: what you'll get ↗, Full rate for 2026/27, qualifying years, records that started before April 2016. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  4. GOV.UK, The basic State Pension: how much you get ↗, Full basic State Pension for 2026/27. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  5. HM Revenue & Customs, Reduction in Income Tax for eligible pensioners ↗, Detailed proposal: eligibility, the 20% calculation, the taper, the cap at your tax bill, Finance Bill 2026-27. Published 28 October 2026. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  6. HM Treasury, Pension Tax Allowance explainer ↗, Who qualifies, income bands for 2027-28, worked examples, Scottish taxpayers, partners. Published 28 October 2026. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  7. GOV.UK, The new State Pension: when you're paid ↗, Paid every 4 weeks; the day depends on your National Insurance number. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  8. GOV.UK, Tax when you get a pension: how your tax is paid ↗, State Pension not taxed before you get it; tax code, Simple Assessment, Self Assessment. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  9. GOV.UK, Pension Credit: eligibility ↗, Income that counts, couples. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  10. GOV.UK, State Pension if you retire abroad: rates of State Pension ↗, Countries where State Pension increases each year. Accessed 8 November 2026.
  11. nidirect, Check your State Pension forecast ↗, Northern Ireland's separate State Pension service. Accessed 8 November 2026.

This article is general information, not financial advice. Check your own position before you act.

About the author

PayCalc UK builds free UK money calculators and explains the rules behind them. We take rates and statistics from official sources such as GOV.UK, HMRC, the OBR and the ONS, and say where a figure is our own calculation. We are not financial advisers. Read about us and how we calculate.