The full state pension is now worth more than £200 a week – however, pensioners will have to wait until their next payment date to see a boost to their bank balance.
Here, Which? reveals how much the state pension is worth in 2023-34, and when to expect your payments.
How much state pension will I get in 2023-24?
If you’re a man born on or after 6 April 1951, or a woman born on or after 6 April 1953, you’ll get the new state pension.
For this tax year, the full amount is worth £203.85 a week or £10,600.20 a year.
To get any state pension at all, you need at least 10 years’ worth of NICs.
Basic state pension
If you reached state pension age before 6 April 2016, you’ll get the basic state pension. This is worth £156.20 a week in 2023-24 (£8,122.40 a year).
Married couples where both partners have built up state pension will get double this amount in 2023-24 – so £312.40 a week, up from £283.70 a week in 2022-23.
If your partner hasn't built up their own state pension, they'll still be able to claim a state pension based on your record.
You may also have built up some additional state pension, previously known as the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (Serps) or state second pension (S2P). If this is the case, you'll get more than £156.20 a week in 2023-24.
Find out more:When is the state pension paid?
The new state pension is usually paid every four weeks into an account of your choice.
You’re paid in arrears for the previous four weeks – which is why April's payment increases won't be paid until May.
Your payment day depends on your National Insurance number. If it falls on a bank holiday then you may be paid earlier.
Source: Gov.uk
When will you receive the new rates?
The state pension rates increase from the first Monday of the new financial year, which was 10 April.
The new 2023-24 rates take effect from the first day of your next full benefit week. If your pay day is a Wednesday, for example, your state pension increase will take effect from 13 April.
The Department for Work and Pensions applies the same approach each year, meaning that people receive the same rates of state pension for an equal number of weeks, regardless of their pay day.
Therefore, if your pension payment day is a Monday, then the first full four-weekly payment at the new rates will be the 8 May for the period between 11 April-8 May.
And if your payday is on a Wednesday, the first full four weekly payment at the new rate will be 11 May for the period between 13 April-10 May.
Find out more:How to boost your state pension
Not everyone will get the full state pension amount, so it’s worth checking if you can boost your state pension payments, or increase your retirement income in other ways.
Here, we've listed some ways you can boost your retirement fund for those already receiving their state pension, and for those who have not yet reached state pension age:
Check for state pension errors
Many pensioners have been left short-changed due to a combination of complex rules about entitlements under the old state pension system, and computer errors made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The DWP started the correction exercise – known as a Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practices (LEAP) process – last January. It's due to be completed by the end of 2023.
The government has so far repaid £300m to around 46,0000 pensioners who were underpaid their state pension, but there's still a long way to go.
Find out more:See if you’re missing out on free NICs
However, you can register for child benefit without claiming the cash, so you still accrue NI credits.
Grandparents and other family members (aged over 16, but under state pension age) that provide care for a child aged under 12 may also be able to get Class 3 Specified Adult National Insurance credits.
Buy extra years
It's usually possible to pay voluntary contributions for the past six years. The deadline is 5 April each year, so you have until 5 April 2024 to make up for gaps for the tax year 2017-18.
However, the DWP temporarily relaxed this rule back in 2014, allowing some people to fill gaps for any year from 2006-07 onwards.
The rule was changed so those reaching state pension age in the early years of the new state pension, which came into force in April 2016, had an extended opportunity to assess whether they would be able to improve how much they got under the new system.
The rule is due to be changed back in July – meaning you only have a few months left to top up historic NICS.
Find out moreApply for pension credit
If you're on a low income, you may be able to claim pension credit, which will help boost your state pension income.
Pension credit is a means-tested benefit, meaning it's awarded to you based on your earnings.
It's made up of two parts, guarantee credit and savings credit. You may be eligible for one or both of these.
Guarantee credit Savings creditFind out moresource https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/state-pension-rise-why-your-payments-wont-increase-until-next-month-a9I912V9Ea3M