Nearly half a million people will not get new State Pension payments of up to £230.25 per week during the 2025/26 financial year.
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Following the 4.1 per cent rise on April 7, the full New Sate Pension will be worth £921 every four-week payment period during the 2025/26 financial year, while the full Basic State Pension has increased to £705.80.
However, an estimated 453,000 pensioners are living in a country which does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government resulting in them not receiving the annual State Pension uprating. This is despite having paid the necessary amount of National Insurance Contributions to receive the state Pension.
Campaigners representing nearly half a million ex-pats are hopeful that the recent election of Mark Carney as Prime Minister of Canada will help end the so-called ‘frozen pensions policy’.
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Mr Carney worked in the UK for several years, most notably as the Governor of the Bank of England and the End Frozen Pensions Campaign is highlighting how it is likely that the 59-year-old will qualify for a UK State Pension, despite relocating back to Canada.
However, much like over 100,000 ex-pats resident in Canada getting the State Pension, it could be frozen at the level it is when he first claims it.
Campaigners explain how this is the result of the UK Government’s long-standing policy which sees hundreds of thousands of UK State Pensioners miss out on the annual payment increase as a consequence of retiring overseas to certain countries.
These include mostly Commonwealth countries, including Canada and Australia, which are impacted by this policy, whereas retirees living in the USA or EU countries are eligible for the same considerations related to their State Pension had they remained in the UK.
Edwina Melville-Grey, Chair of End Frozen Pensions Canada, said: “We don’t imagine for a moment that Mr Carney will be reliant on whatever UK State Pension he might be entitled to. However, we know for sure that many thousands of the UK State Pensioners living in affected countries, including those in Canada, see their UK State Pension as a vital lifeline helping them through arduous times.
“We know that he has many immense challenges on his desk right now and wish him well in meeting those. But we hope he will be able, when the time is right, to meet with our lead campaigner on this issue, 100-year-old Anne Puckridge. Her situation embodies the injustice of this scandal.”
Anne travelled to the UK in December 2024 to lobby the UK Government, asking for the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to meet with her on the matter. But he declined the invitation.
For the past 24 years, the 100-year-old Second World War veteran of all three-armed forces has received a State Pension of just £72.50 per week – less than half the £176.45 she would be entitled to in April 2024 had she not left the UK at the age of 76 after having worked her entire life in the UK.
Many of the other affected pensioners are much worse off with half receiving £65 a week or less. Campaigners say that some pensioners are receiving as little as £20.00 a week.
John Duguid, Chair of End Frozen Pensions International, said: “Simply more needs to be done to address the ‘frozen’ pensions policy in diplomatic settings, and the election of Mark Carney as Canada’s Prime Minister paints the perfect opportunity to do so.
“The current political appetite surrounding trade and negotiations further reinforces the point that the cost to unfreeze pensions is extremely modest and will be an essential lifeline to many affected pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet.”
The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) advocates on behalf of around 453,000 expats affected by ‘frozen pensions’ and is behind the ‘End Frozen Pensions’ campaign, which aims to “end the injustice” for Brits who have moved abroad whose State Pension does not rise in-line with the Triple Lock every April.
Analysis by the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners indicates that all these frozen State Pensions could be brought in-line with the current State Pension pay rates by the new Labour Government for £50 million. Its analysis shows that State Pension payments to frozen countries only amounts to 1.3 per cent of the UK Government’s total annual expenditure.
You can find out more about the End Frozen Pensions Campaign on their website here.
State Pension payments 2025/26
The DWP has published the full list of State Pension and benefit uprated payments on GOV.UK here, which also includes additional elements such as the deferred rates, which are rising by 1.7 per cent (September Consumer Price Index inflation rate).
Full New State Pension
- Weekly payment: £230.25 (from £221.20)
- Fortnightly payment: £460.50 (from £442.40)
- Four-weekly payment: £921 (from £884.80)
- Annual amount: £11,973 (from £11,502)
Full Basic State Pension
- Weekly payment: £176.45 (from £169.50)
- Fortnightly payment: £352.90 (from £339)
- Four-weekly payment: £705.80 (from £678)
- Annual amount: £9,175 (from £8,814)
Future State Pension increases
The Labour Government has pledged to honour the Triple Lock or the duration of its term and the latest predictions show the following projected annual increases:
- 2025/26 – 4.1%, the forecast was 4%
- 2026/27 – 2.5%
- 2027/28 – 2.5%
- 2028/29 – 2.5%
- 2029/30 – 2.5%
Recent analysis released by Royal London revealed only around half of people receiving the New State Pension last year were getting the full weekly amount – and around 150,000 were on less than £100 per week.
