Under the Conservatives, the state pension had risen by £3,700—and is increasing another £900 this year.
The figures refer to two different things. The £900 figure only refers to the increase in the new state pension between 2023/24 and 2024/25. The £3,700 figure refers to the basic (or old) state pension, and correctly gives the difference between 2010 and 2024/25.
The Conservative party claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that “Under the Conservatives, the State Pension had risen by £3,700 - and is increasing another £900 this year.”
There are a couple of issues with this statement, because the two figures refer to two different things.
In April 2024, the new state pension did rise by £900, but the basic state pension (which is for people born before a certain year and is what the £3,700 relates to) increased by about £690 per year.
The statement seems to imply—incorrectly—that this year’s pension increase is on top of a previous £3,700 increase. It is true that the basic state pension has risen by £3,700 since 2010 when the Conservatives took office, but this figure already includes the April 2024 increase of £690.
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In 2010 the weekly basic state pension was £97.65 a week, worth £5,077.80 over the course of a year.
From April 2024, the basic (or old) state pension, for men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953, rose to £169.50 a week, worth £8,814 over the course of a year. This is £3,736.20 more than in 2010.
However, the “£900 this year” figure only refers to the increase in the new state pension, for men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953.
In 2023/24 the new state pension was worth £203.85 a week, or £10,600.20 a year. This increased to £221.20 a week in 2024/25, worth £11,502.40 a year, a difference of £902.20.
Over the same time, the basic state pension increased by £691.60 per year, from £156.20 a week (worth £8,122.40 a year) to £169.50 a week (worth £8,814).
The Conservative tweet incorrectly implies that the £900 figure is on top of the £3,700 increase. But they are referring to two different things. The £900 figure only refers to the increase between 2023/24 and 2024/25, and only applies to the new state pension.
By contrast the £3,700 figure only refers to the basic (or old) state pension, and the difference between 2010 and the new rate for 2024/25.
We have contacted the Conservative party and will update this article if we hear a response.
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