What is the State Pension triple lock and how does it work?

What is the pension triple lock? It is the government's promise to raise the State Pension each April by whichever of earnings growth, CPI inflation or 2.5% is largest.

An FCA-authorised adviser can set each April's rise next to everything else you will live on; this page's form is brief and the ring-back costs nothing. The rest of this page explains how the lock works, using government sources, so that you can check any figure you see in the news.

What is the State Pension triple lock?

The triple lock is a government commitment to raise the basic and new State Pension every year by the largest of three measures: earnings growth, inflation or a flat 2.5%. DWP's benefit statistics describe it that way and say it has applied since the financial year 2011 to 2012. The three "locks" are three yardsticks, and whichever gives the biggest percentage wins:

• Earnings: the average percentage growth in wages in Great Britain.
• Prices: the percentage growth in UK prices, measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
• A floor of 2.5%: used in any year when both of the others come in lower.

That is GOV.UK's wording for the new State Pension, and the page for the basic State Pension uses the same three tests. In practice the pension rises by the largest of the three, never by less than 2.5%.

The lock began with the old basic pension. In 2010 the Chancellor announced that most benefits would move to CPI from April 2011 and, according to DWP, the government brought in the "Triple Lock" guarantee for the basic State Pension. When the new State Pension arrived in 2016, the lock was applied to that as well.

Which State Pensions does the triple lock cover, and which rise by CPI?

The triple lock covers the basic State Pension and the full rate of the new State Pension. Other parts of what some people receive are not covered; the Government Actuary's report on the 2026 uprating sets out that the lock is applied to basic and new State Pension payments "excluding increases for deferral". The parts below rise with CPI instead; the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026, made on 2 March 2026, raised each of them by 3.8% that April:

• Protected payment. GOV.UK says a protected payment on the new State Pension increases each year in line with CPI. It is the amount above the full new rate that some people are paid because of their pre-2016 record; see the State Pension protected payment.
• Additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit. Earnings-related additional pensions such as SERPS and S2P, and Graduated Retirement Benefit, rose by 3.8%, the CPI figure, under the made Order. The Additional State Pension explains what it is.
• Deferral increases. The extra pension earned by putting off a claim rose by 3.8% too, under both the old and the new State Pension; the reasons to defer are covered in should I defer my State Pension?

So two people drawing a State Pension in the same month can see two different percentages on their statement. Which one applies depends on how your pension is built, and the new and old State Pension compared shows which system you are in. Few of us live on the State Pension alone, so the lock covers only part of the picture. To have an FCA-authorised adviser untangle the rest, use the form on this page; they phone you, and it is free.

How is each April's State Pension increase worked out?

The increase is the highest of three numbers, each taken from a fixed month: average weekly earnings growth for May to July, CPI inflation for September, and 2.5%. The Government Actuary's report puts it as "the highest of the annual growth in average May-July earnings (AWE), September prices (CPI) and 2.5%".

The percentage is announced ahead of the new tax year: for April 2026, the Government Actuary's report says the proposed uprating was announced in a written ministerial statement on 26 November 2025. The earnings figure is an average across all employees, so it can move for reasons unrelated to what any one person is paid; DWP's statistics note that average weekly earnings can be affected by changes in the make-up of the workforce.

For the current weekly amounts, go to the State Pension rate page. For 2026/27, DWP's April 2026 figures are £241.30 a week for a full new State Pension and £184.90 for a full basic one.

How much did the State Pension rise in recent years, and why?

The headline percentage jumps around because the winning measure changes from year to year. DWP's benefit rate statistics, together with the Government Actuary's 2026 report, give this record:

The pattern shows why the lock is described as three tests rather than one. In 2023 prices led, because CPI inflation had been high. In April 2024, 2025 and 2026 it was earnings each time. DWP's announcement of 4 April 2026 said the full new State Pension would increase "by 4.8% in line with the increase in average earnings", from £230.25 to £241.30 a week.

The 2021 row is an unusual one. The Government Actuary's table shows the earnings measure for that uprating at (1.0)%, the table's way of showing a fall, and DWP says section 150A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 stops the Secretary of State bringing forward an uprating order if earnings growth is negative. The government passed the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2020 so that pensions could rise by 2.5% anyway.

Why was the triple lock suspended for April 2022?

For April 2022, the government left the earnings test out and raised the pension by the greater of CPI and 2.5%, which meant 3.1%. The reason was the pandemic. In a statement to Parliament on 7 September 2021, the Work and Pensions Secretary said earnings had risen at an unprecedented rate as people came off furlough and went back to work, and that she expected growth of 8% or more for May to July 2021. She called that figure a statistical anomaly and not a real-life basis for that year's rise. The Government Actuary's table records earnings growth of 8.6% for the April 2022 uprating, against CPI of 3.1%, and notes that the earnings component was excluded from the calculation. Because section 150A ties the pension to earnings, Parliament passed the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021, which made that year's review run against prices instead, with a 2.5% floor.

The suspension was for that one uprating only. DWP says the government reinstated the earnings element in 2023, and the 10.1% rise that April was set by CPI, as the table shows. The UK State Pension guide covers how the amounts themselves are built up.

Is the triple lock a law or government policy?

Government policy: only the earnings part is written into law. Section 150A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State to review, every tax year, whether the basic and new State Pension have kept their value against the general level of earnings in Great Britain, and, where earnings have risen, to lay an order raising them by at least that rise. The Government Actuary's report puts the same point briefly: "The legislative basis for increasing the basic and new State Pensions is at least in line with average earnings."

The CPI test and the 2.5% floor sit on top of that as a commitment. The Pensions Commission describes it as something governments "have chosen" to do from 2011‑12. Because the earnings link is in the Act, setting it aside for April 2022 needed an Act of its own, as described above.

Where it stands now, according to government documents:

• This parliament. The Government Actuary's report says the November 2024 Autumn Budget committed to maintain the lock for the duration of the Parliament and that the Autumn Budget 2025 restated the commitment. DWP's Triple Lock reform factsheet, updated 6 October 2026, repeats it: the government "has committed to uprating on the basis of the Triple Lock throughout this parliament".
• From April 2030, announced. The same factsheet says the government will adjust the lock, so that the pension rises each year by the highest of CPI, 2.5% or the amount required to return or maintain the value of the State Pension relative to earnings.
• Current pensioners. DWP says people who currently receive a State Pension will continue to receive their triple lock pension until April 2030.

The 2030 change is an announcement of future policy, not something in force today, so every figure and rule earlier on this page still applies for now.

What does the triple lock mean for your own State Pension?

It sets how much your State Pension rises each April, but not how much you start with, which comes from your National Insurance record. If you have not yet claimed, the free Check your State Pension forecast service on GOV.UK tells you the amount you are on course for, and the State Pension rate page carries the current weekly rates. The State Pension is also taxable income, so a rise can matter for your tax position; tax on the State Pension explains how that works.

Once you have your State Pension figure, the open question is how it sits among your other pots and your tax: workplace and personal pensions follow their own rules, which the lock does not touch. This page's form costs nothing to send; the FCA-authorised adviser calling you can sort that out.

More on how the triple lock is applied

Who introduced the State Pension triple lock, and when?

DWP says the Chancellor announced in 2010 that benefits would move to CPI from April 2011, and the government introduced the triple lock guarantee for the basic State Pension. DWP's statistics date its use from the financial year 2011 to 2012.

Is the triple lock still being applied each April?

Yes, for now: the government has committed to it throughout this parliament, and DWP says current pensioners keep it until April 2030. The plan for an adjusted lock from that date is described above.

Does the triple lock apply to Pension Credit?

Pension Credit is a separate benefit, but DWP said the standard minimum guarantee would rise by 4.8% in line with earnings in April 2026, the same rate as the State Pension. How the benefit works is in how much Pension Credit you can get.

Does the triple lock raise my workplace or personal pension?

No. It is a State Pension rule. A workplace or personal pension rises according to the scheme's or provider's own terms, and the State Pension compared with a private pension sets the two side by side. NHS scheme increases are covered in the NHS pension increase guide.

What happens when CPI and earnings give different answers?

The higher one wins. In April 2023, for example, DWP says CPI of 10.1% was higher than average wage growth of 5.5%, so the pension rose by 10.1%.