State pensioners to be handed free £353 'at least' after Winter Fuel Payment cut

State pensioners to be handed free £353 'at least' after Winter Fuel Payment cut
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State pension payments are set to be hiked as we head in the next financial year, gifting pensioners more cash from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and new Labour Party government. Earlier this month, it was revealed that wage growth - analysed by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) - sat at 4%.

Under the triple lock, this meant state pension payments would rise by 4% next April. If the state pension is to rise by 4%, then the new state pension will go up by £8.85 a week to £230.05 - an increase of £461.78 a year. This will take the yearly worth from £11,541.90 to £12,003.68.

The old state pension is expected to go up by £6.78 to £176.28 a week. That will take it from £8,844.27 to £9,198.04 a year, a rise of £353.77 compared with now. Introduced in 2011 by the Liberal Democrats and Conservative Party coalition government, this guarantees that the state pension (both the basic and the new state pension) will rise by whichever of these three key figures is the highest.

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The metrics are inflation, based on the consumer price inflation (CPI) figure for September of the previous year and the average increase in wages during the May to July period of the previous year; or 2.5 per cent.

Despite the disparity between the two pensions drawing fury, government chiefs have defended it. Under the old basic state pension system, people can receive extra money from the state based on their national insurance (NI) contributions.

They could qualify for the “additional state pension” – known as the state earnings-related pension scheme (Serps), or state second pension – for the years they paid the full rate of NI, the government and DWP have explained.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The basic state pension is worth £900 more than it was a year ago and will go up again in April next year because of the triple lock, which we have committed to for the duration of this parliament.”