S‌tate pension payments have risen but half a million won’t get boost | Personal Finance | Finance

State pensioners will be paid the full uprated state pension in the 2023/24 financial year for the first time this month but an estimated half a million people will miss out on the yearly increase.

Payments increased by a record 10.1 percent in April as the triple lock policy was reinstated as the measure for calculating the increase.

The triple lock guarantees the state pension goes up each year, in line with the highest of 2.5 percent, the rise in average earnings or the rate of inflation.

The full basic state pension increased from £148.15 a week to £156.20 a week while the full new state pension went up from £185.15 a week to £203.85 a week.

This means a person on the full new state pension will see their payments increased by just over £970 over the course of the year.

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But many people will not benefit from the increase if they currently live in certain countries overseas.

This means a person could lose out on thousands of pounds in payments if they have lived in a non-eligible country for several years.

For a person to receive the yearly uprating, they must live in one of these countries:

• The UK
• European Economic Area (EEA)
• Gibraltar
• Switzerland
• Countries with a social security agreement with the UK (but not Canada or New Zealand).

An estimated 520,000 British pensioners are affected by the policy, according to the End Frozen Pensions campaign group.

‌World War II veteran Patricia Coulthard, who turns 102 years old this year, moved to Australia in the early 1990s to be closer to her children.

She receives just £46 a week for her state pension which is less than a third of the full basic state pension, which is now £156.20 a week.

She said: “Similar to the UK, the cost of living in Australia has been increasing, yet my British state pension is frozen in time, forced to stretch further and further to cover the cost.

“I have been deserted by the UK Government in my retirement, left to depend on the kindness of Australia.”

‌A DWP spokesperson previously told Express.co.uk: “Our priority is ensuring every pensioner receives the financial support to which they are entitled.

“We understand that people move abroad for many reasons and we provide clear information about how this can impact on their finances.

“The Government’s policy on the uprating of the UK state pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one of more than 70 years and we continue to uprate state pensions overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so.”