State pensioners to be handed free £470 'to wipe out Winter Fuel Payment axe'

State pensioners will gain up to £470 after an announcement in the Budget today. Chancellor Rachel Reeves reiterated the Government’s commitment to the pension triple lock, telling the Commons: “This commitment means that while working-age benefits will be uprated in line with CPI at 1.7%, the basic and new state pension will be uprated by 4.1% in 2025-26.

“This means that over 12 million pensioners will gain up to £470 next year.” She added: “The pension credit standard minimum guarantee will also rise by 4.1% from around £11,400 per year to around £11,850 for a single pensioner.”

Greg Marsh, CEO of AI money-saving tool Nous.co, said: "For millions of pensioners the increase will be almost entirely cancelled out by the loss of their Winter Fuel Payment. This will leave significant numbers struggling to afford their bills just as we head into winter, so it’s crucial that people make savings where they can."

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Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, said: "While the state pension is on the up, it’s worth remembering that it still falls short of the £14,400 a single pensioner needs for a minimum standard of living in retirement, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA).

"For our younger generations, one way to future proof their retirement saving is to a look at workplace or private pension provision and make sure to check it matches with their retirement expectations – there are a number of online tools and calculators that can help with this."

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "It's hugely important that if you think you or a loved one may qualify for Pension Credit that you put in a claim. It is an important, but hugely underclaimed benefit that acts as a gateway to other help such as support with council tax and a free TV licence for the over 75s.

"However, recent government data shows only about two-third of people who could benefit from Pension Credit are claiming it so the government has an uphill struggle on its hands to boost awareness."