Don't be shy and retiring when it comes to your state pension

GET THE MOST OUT OF THE STATE PENSION: First, the good news.

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The state pension will increase by 4.8% from April next year, thanks to the triple lock. That will lift the maximum new state pension to around £12,548 a year, while the basic state pension will climb to just under £9,616.Many claimants will also receive additional state pension through the state earnings-related pension scheme (SERPs) or state second pension (S2P). Pensioners whose total income falls below these levels can claim pension credit, which lifts a single person’s income to £12,376, or £18,889 for couples. The triple lock, which the Daily Express has successfully campaigned to continue, increases the pension annually with inflation, earnings, or 2.5%, whichever is highest. Its future is constantly questioned, but the government has confirmed it will continue for the life of this Parliament at least. One thing is changing in 2026. The state pension age will rise from 66 to 67, phased according to birth date, completing by 2028. That means people born between April 1960 and March 1961 will reach the new state pension age several months after turning 66, while those born between April 1961 and April 1977 will reach it on their 67th birthday. It will later rise to 68.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will send letters confirming individual retirement ages. The increase reflects our longer life expectancy, and aims to ensure people spend a similar proportion of adult life drawing a pension. The state pension is incredibly complicated, but it pays to understand how it works to avoid a shortfall.

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