DWP set to snatch £2,704 from state pensioners born before 1953

More than 9.3 million pensioners are still on the old system, compared to just 3.4 million receiving the new state pension
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The oldest state pensioners face being "short changed." Men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953, miss out on the full Triple Lock increase from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) - thus losing out on thousands

More than 9.3 million pensioners are still on the old system, compared to just 3.4 million receiving the new state pension. The basic old state pension pays just £169.20 a week (£8,798 a year)—a staggering £3,000 less than the new state pension, which is £11,502.40 a year.

Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister and architect of the new state pension, now a partner at pension consultants LCP, said trying to change the old system to address the disparities would be “horribly complex”. He added: “It is true that new state pensioners benefit from the triple lock on a larger slice of their pension than those on the old system.

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“But changing this would be far from straightforward. The Serps calculation under the old system is unique to each individual and it would be horribly complex to try to deliver to each individual on the old system a triple lock increase based on their own individual circumstances.

“Many people on the old state pension retired in an era when pensions in retirement were linked only to prices, so they have enjoyed a substantial improvement in their annual increases, just not as much as those on the new state pension”. Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, said it was understandable that pensioners might feel “resentful” about the discrepancy.

She added: “If you are in advanced old age and struggling to make ends meet, it must be galling to learn that some people who retired more recently than you are receiving a higher state pension. This is especially true if you paid all your National Insurance contributions, meaning there was no more you could have done to maximise your state pension income in retirement."