New State Pension

I was awarded enhanced PIP for living and enhanced PIP for mobility in 2023 after going to PIP tribunal. I had been fighting for 35: years for disability benefits after our GP told us to in those days it was DLA. I was born disabled which got severe when I was 29 our children 4 years and son 6 months old. Did have my diagnosis of what it was until I was 63 and only because my neurologist had my whole genome genetically tested. First patient at this top neurological hospital to have it my neurologist had to research it . The rare disease society put me in touch with Facebook group started by a Brit nearly 20;years ago it's worldwide and just overv1,100 of us there. Plus in when I was 62 had it confirmed after having MRI I was also born with hole in the side of my heart it's small and on medication for it.

Only took me moving over 100 miles to get a GP practice that cared to send me to see my neurologist and cardiologist. Had neurologist where I used to live but he didn't care . I had limb jerks for 32 years even in my sleep and 4 bad seizures.. My new neurologist gave me a tablet and within 2 weeks my limbs where still.
I have visible and invisible disabilities.
Unfortunately since last year my health has deteriorated. But still fighting on to live a full life.

It sounds like you have the Severe Disability Premium.

In 2023/24 this was £76.40, 2024/25 £81.50, 2025/26 £82.90, 2026/27 £86.05.

This enhances the current Standard Minimum Guarantee of £227.10 to £310.00.

As Severe Disability Premium is a fixed amount I was thrown at the outset by you saying you received an amount other than that but I suspect what you were giving was the net amount after your two pensions have been taken into account.

I never received any bereavement benefits or widowed parents allowance even though my son was 16.
Over £10,000 pounds in savings you have got to be joking try
under £4,000.

I have no idea how much money you think I have Graphite . When I brought my bungalow I spend my own savings on adapting it to be safe for my disability. My shower chair alone cost cost £300 as I needed one that was safe for me. Same with having an ease toilet .
My kitchen had to be made safe for me . Last year after my stay in hospital occupation therapist gave me a bed bar and pressure cushion and had a ramp fitted as my foot kept falling off the front door step . Brought my own handle to get up and down off my sofa as the one occupational therapist could get me wouldn't fit . Plus brought my own tipper kettle as the one occupational therapist could have got me wasn't safe . My eye sight has to be tested every year but my eyes needed testing 6 months last year as the 1.5 cm lesion under my scalp made my sight worse so had to have new distance and reading glasses. Because of the PC I could get them cheaper.

According to you I am not entitled to it . Yet DWP said I am .

Thank you Cabbie.

I’m baffled - not by the tax element but by the Pension Credit.

My circumstances are not so different to Whiff’s.

I was widowed age 51 in 2007. My DH was 55. I’m now 70.

This is why I know so much about the pension rules at that time and bereavement benefits.

The State Widow’s Pension had been abolished in 2001, replace by temporary Bereavement Benefit for a year or ongoing Widowed Parent’s Allowance where applicable. Both were based on the late spouse’s NIC.

Under the rules of the new State Pension - which Whiff and I both come under - people who reached SP age after 5 April 2016, there is no inheritance of a spouse’s basic state pension - as there can be for people who reached SP age before the date and haven’t earned a full SP in their own right.

They can inherit 50% of any additional SERPS pension earned by the late spouse (or civil partner) but only if the surviving spouse or civil partner was 55 or older when widowed. For those aged between 45 and 55 when widowed, any SERPS inheritance is tapered down to nothing if they were younger than 45. The same was true of Bereavement Benefit at that time. It was tapered if you were under 55, to nothing if you were under 45.

The £2,000 Bereavement Payment was a separate lump sum also based on the the late spouse’s NIC but was not restricted to those aged between 45 and State Pension age.

Any State Penion Whiff has would seem to come mostly from her own NIC including voluntary Class 3. There may be some of her own SERPS up to 1988 with maybe a small amount of inherited graduated pension from her late husband.

Whatever, it is it made up of, as I understand it, it puts her income beyond the limit for Pension Credit. PC currently tops weekly income up to £227.10 or £11,809 per year. (£238.00 from April 2026 or £12,376 per year).

If Whiff’s SP is set to rise to £971.82 four weekly in the new tax year, then it must be £927.40 (927.40 x 104.8/100) or £12,056 for 2025/26. Add in her small occupational widow’s pension of £354 makes *£12,410 *so above the limit for Pension Credit.

Pension Credit also take into account into account all capital, savings, and investments over £10,000, assuming an income of £1 per week for every £500 (and part £500) over this threshold.

When I was widowed in 2004 the government gave me £2,000 towards my husband's funeral . But gave it to the kids as we had put the money aside . I lived on my husband's lump sum private pensions which ran out just as I inherited half mom's estate . Which wouldn't have lasted me until I got my state pension in 2024 but was awarded PIP in 2023. Which meant I had money to pay my bills .
Since my husband died until I got PIP ,then PC and my state pension I had nothing but money worries .

My daughter even offered to pay my bills when my money run out but I wouldn't have let her . But it didn't come to that .

I wasn't brought up with money so have all been very careful with it all my life . Still am, but I can buy new clothes or have my heating on and not worry about it not having money to pay for it .

I’m receiving the new SP from 2022 and then received £65.00 monthly from my OH PENSION ..then £5.00 was deducted as was over was over the tax free allowance of £12,570…

Think I’m a fool for working from 1972 - 2022 …
But was taught to save not spend…am so much worse off than some of my neighbours and friends…it’s maddening

Graphite, I admire your detailed calculations- not my strong point. I agree with what you have said, but I am out of practice these days.
I’m wondering if the widow’s element of the State Pension has increased now Whiff has reached state pension age? (Just speculating.)

Think I said my husband was 47 when he died

Granite I went to CA will all my documents and when we talked to DWP they sent me a letter saying I was entitled to some . They had all details of my bit of savings . I was honest with them and they still say I am entitled to PC. I checked when I called DWP about my chance in tax code .

Because my husband knew he wouldn't live 5 years he paid extra NI He died in 2004 and I paid voluntary contributions to cover 10 years in 2017.
I think when I had my children was credited with NI contributions until they where 18. Children were 20 &16 when their dad died . I was 45.

I have been totally honest with DWP and they have said I am entitled to PC and calculated my state pension. I am 68 next month .

If your State Pension for 2026/27 will be £971.92 every four weeks then that’s £12,635 for the year which is £87 more than the full new State Pension of £12,548 pa.

Anyone receiving full nSP would not receive Pension Credit as PC only tops up income to just below the rate of the nSP - see the numbers in my previous post.

The question is why is your State Pension more than the base amount if you didn’t work after 1988?

Had you been older when your husband died I would say perhaps you inherited some Additional State Pension from him but I don’t think that would have been the case (or much anyway) People under the age of 48 when widowed cannot inherit any SERPS. Between age 55 and 48 it was tapered.

They can inherit a fraction of a spouse’s graduated pension earned up to 1975 when the scheme ended. SERPS began in 1978. Perhaps you earned some additional state pension yourself for working up to 1988.

Do you have a letter explaining the various components of your State Pension e.g. own basic contributions, own SERPS/graduated, inherited SERPS/graduated?

You should, in any event, have received a letter showing the two pension calculations that have to be done for people whose NI record straddles April 2016 to see if they are better off under the old two-tier or new single tier state pension scheme.

If your State Pension is that much, I don’t understand how you are receiving Pension Credit.

PIP is not counted as income for calculating Pension Credit as neither is taxable.

HMRC will just add your two pensions, deduct the tax free allowance of £12,570 and change tax at 20% on the excess by taking it from your widow’s pension.

I may be missing something here. Cabbie has good knowledge of how the benefits system works. Maybe she can throw some light?

Graphite I do get enhanced PIP for mobility and enhanced PIP for living awarded in 2023 but not had letter yet about how much .My pension credit is going up to £74.25 . Both paid every 4 weeks . Both classed as benefit so tax free.

This is how they say we worked out your tax code K4. £12,570 personal allowance less state pension £12,623
£53 to be added to your wages ,salary or pension .
Phoenix Life ltd £53 is added to this income
This totals your tax free amount £-53.
That's why I phoned DWP as I hadn't got a clue what it meant and they told me I owe £10.60 for tax year 2026/2027.

Just had my Phoenix payment and it was same amount as always . Don't know if they will start taking some out next month .

State pension regular payment will be £971. 92 every 4 weeks from 21st May .

I only go by what DWP tell me .

Only took me 35 years fighting to get disability benefits and I was born disabled . But did work until 1988 when I got worse only filled in for my husbands secretary when she was away . Looked after the children. Allowed carers allowance from October 2003 to February 2004 looking after my husband until he died. Looked after both parents and mother in law no carers allowance until my mom lived with me last 18 months of her life she had cancer and dementia. I was only allowed 6 months carers allowance as I was told my mom would get better 🤬🤬🤬..

Hmm. That doesn’t sound right to me as.

I recalled you writing that your received Pension Credit so I looked up the old post where you said you were helped by CAB. You said that you were awarded £70.04 pw in 2024 which would increase in April 2025 to just over £71 pw.

You said you received PIP as well. PIP and Pension Credit are not taxable.

For 2024/25, Pension Credit topped up a single person’s income to £218.15 pw. For 2025/26 Pension Credit tops up a single person’s income to £227.10. For 2026/27 it will be £238.00.

If you were awarded Pension Credit of £70.04 in 2024, this suggests your other weekly income was £148.11.

If your widow’s pension is only £354 a year gross (12 x £29.56 or £6.80 a week) that suggests that your State Pension in 2024 was £141.31 pw. £141.31 + £6.80 = £148.11 + Pension Credit £70.04 = £218.15.

The State Pension rise for April 2025 was 4.1% and for April 2026 will be 4.8%.

That means your State Pension would have risen to £147.10 from April 2025 and will rise to £154.41 from April 2026

This may be a few pennies out and remember that SP is usually paid four weekly so what is paid will differ. I’m just working out the annual numbers based on the amount of your widows pension and Pension Credit award.

State Pension £154.41 x 52 = £8029 plus your widow’s pension of £354 = £8,383 means you are well below the tax threshold of £12,570.

I was told by DWP state pension is classed as income . I have for the last 22 years got £29.56 per month from a private pension from my husband. Because of the state pension rise they changed my tax code and I now owe £10.60 for the tax year 2026/2027.
How much money is it going to cost them in man power to get that £10.60 off me . I was told they will inform the private pension company and they will deduct it from my £29.56 so many pennies a month .

Category B pensions which I explained on page one of this thread.

State Widow’s Pension was abolished in 2001.

Widow(er)s were effectively re-aligned with other single people and expected to go back to work. The Hansard on abolishing the State Widow’s Pension is interesting. Some MPs argued that widow(er)s who had not been working outside the home should find a job in six months but they eventually legislated for a year. Temporary Bereavement Benefit (based on the rate of the old age pension could be claimed for a year (now 18 months) but not if you were young when widowed. Under the age of 55, BB was tapered according to age down to nothing - as I know to my cost despite my late husband having paid 40 years of NIC.

Contrast my late MiL who did not work outside the home after the age of 18. She was widowed at 49, received a State Widow’s Pension for 11 years until she was 60 and State Pension thereafter. She lived until she was 95 so received a pension for 46 years.

I was widowed at a similar age and received nothing until I could claim my own SP at 66 based on my own NIC.

People reaching pension age now cannot inherit a late spouse’s basic pension, only a fraction of their Additional State Pension when they reach SP age themselves but again, not if widowed young.

When people complain about the old State Pension system, they overlook how generous it was and is to spouses who did not work outside the home and pay NIC.

I think it is many years since a Widows Pension was paid but I may be wrong.
A widow can inherit her H’s pension in some cases but not the AVC’s now I believe, again I might be wrong.
This is the system as it is presently, right or wrong.

Of course, this is increasingly rare, but I had two family members who stopped work promptly after they married, one had children, one did not.
They received the State Pension ( or maybe a Widow's Pension) for many years after the death of their respective husbands. I understand that this was due to the contributions of their spouses, but these ladies did not pay any money into any pot.

I realise I’m inviting censure but I don’t believe the triple lock is sustainable. It disproportionately benefits better off pensioners because it is based on a percentage. It also means that public spending is unpredictable, as the percentage is not known in advance. I don’t think the country can afford it, I believe all political parties recognise this, but none of them want to bite the bullet as it will be seen as targeting the elderly.

Certainly ought to be performance related in the Lords.

Sometimes, I wonder if MP pay should be performance-related and that there should be a progressive pay-scale based on experience and responsibilities taken on.

If one looks at Parallel Parliament and similar sites to see the extent of what individual MPs do; how often they ask questions, take part in debates, present bills, table motions, what committees they are members of, APPGs and so on, it’s very clear that some do more than others.

The allocation of places on Select Committees is based on the size of the party on the HoC so that can be unfair to members of smaller parties and independents but it should stop them getting involved in other aspects of Parliamentary business.

Anyone can stand for MP and be elected. They don't even have to undergo a DBS check.

Once elected, there must be a certain degree of having to hit the ground running but new MPs will be inexperienced and I think pay should reflect that.

Immediately after he was elected, the former Reform MP James McMurdock bragged that he was having to take a substantial pay cut to become an MP. A diligent journalist from the Bylines Times soon noticed that his CV looked suspicious and spoke to him employers. They said he had been a junior clerk who wasn’t to be trusted with anything important, that his MP salary would, in fact, be a very substantial pay rise.

I don’t know how well McMurdock he does his job. He may work very hard for his constituents and have made a difference.

When he was with Reform, he would ask the occasional question in the HoC which I suspected was fed to him from other party MPs. Since leaving Reform in July 2025 he has spoken only 16 times in the HoC and serves on no committees or APPGs.

parliamentlive.tv/Search?Keywords=&Member=James+McMurdock+MP&MemberId=5361&House=&Business=&Start=05%2F07%2F2025&End=04%2F03%2F2026

www.parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/james-mcmurdock

Calendargirl

^MP’s have just awarded themselves a 5% pay rise^

Not correct though, it was awarded ‘to them’ by some committee or other, they didn’t do it themselves.

I don’t think MPs are paid enough. Imo, they should receive an higher salary and be barred from outside paid interests.

True. My mistake. It has been awarded by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) since 2010. Before that MPs did decide in HoC resolutions based on advice from the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).

In 2008, the House agreed to a resolution that provided for automatic, formula-driven increases based on public sector pay, intended to stop MPs from voting directly on their own pay.

My point though was to illustrate that the percentage rise depends on the starting point: a 5% rise on an already generous salary compared to a 4.8% triple lock rise on what might be a very small pension.

MP’s have just awarded themselves a 5% pay rise

Not correct though, it was awarded ‘to them’ by some committee or other, they didn’t do it themselves.

It strikes me that there is so much that is not clear, not transparent, not understood about pensions and other benefits managed by the DWP, and so much prejudice instigated and perpetuated by certain media against “ people on benefits”, lumping everyone together as “scroungers”, which possibly accounts for pensioners not wishing to consider themselves to be in receipt of a “benefit”.

Yes, there are some who claim fraudulently, but it is a tiny proportion. Some families may actually be better off on benefits, or not pushing up their working hours as they would lose out on Universal Credit.
Then there is the cliff edge of Pension Credit and all its add-ons, which those just under the threshold miss out on.

The system has grown piecemeal but any government which tries to straighten it out has an impossible task, creating divisions and dissatisfaction, as with the old and new State Pensions.

It is about mid table in terms of how much we receive. But remember, it reflects the low amount we pay towards it.

Not true at all. Many Contributory benefits are taxable.