State pensioners have raised concerns about missing nearly £750 from their pension payments, following changes to eligibility criteria.
In a letter to the Telegraph’s Pensions Doctor, a state pensioner shared their confusion over their pension amount: “I am currently receiving £863.76 every four weeks, equivalent to £11,228.88 annually. However, the published full state pension rate for 2025-26 is £230.25 per week, or £11,973 per year. I was born in 1949 and retired early at age 63.”
The pensioner reviewed their National Insurance contributions and found full payment records between 1975 and 2014, along with eight additional full years before 1975. Despite this, they were unsure why their payments did not match the full published amount.
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Becky O’Connor of Pension Bee clarified that the full state pension rate of £230.25 a week only applies to those reaching state pension age from April 2016 onwards. Since the pensioner was born in 1949, they fall under the basic state pension system, which pays £176.45 per week.
Additionally, there is the Additional State Pension (also known as SERPS or the State Second Pension), an earnings-related top-up based on National Insurance contributions from 1978 onward. The pensioner’s current payment of £863.76 every four weeks equates to about £215.94 weekly, suggesting they receive roughly £39.49 extra per week through this additional pension.
Becky emphasized, “You are not missing out on the £230.25 rate – that rate applies to the newer post-2016 state pension system, not the one under which you retired.”