Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

State Pension Increase

Tuesday 10 March 2026 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The state pension will increase by 4.8% in April 2026, boosting pensioners' incomes by up to 575 a year.
  • The Government prioritizes uprating pensions for UK residents due to the reflection of UK earnings and prices.
  • The Minister agreed to meet Nick Smith to discuss constituents affected by the Safe Hands funeral scheme.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Nick Smith Lab Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The state pension is set to increase by 4.8% in April 2026, boosting pensioners' incomes. However, some pensioners have lost money through the Safe Hands funeral scheme, raising concerns about financial support.

Question

What assessment has been made of the potential impact of the state pension increase in April 2026 on pensioners? Some pensioner constituents have lost money to the Safe Hands funeral scheme when trying to prepare for the worst. Will the Minister meet me to discuss their case?

Answer from Torsten Bell

Payments of both the basic pension and the new state pension will increase by 4.8% in April, boosting pensioners' incomes by up to £575 a year. The yearly amount of the full new state pension is projected to rise by about £2,100 over the current Parliament. I am glad to hear that my hon. Friend is organising events to drive pension credit take-up. On my hon. Friend's question about the failure of Safe Hands, he is a powerful advocate for his constituents. The Serious Fraud Office has recently announced that two individuals have been charged in relation to the case, and there are live criminal proceedings ongoing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister acknowledged the issue but did not commit to a specific meeting to discuss the case.

How: Live Criminal Proceedings Ongoing

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Q2 Nick Smith Lab Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Some pensioner constituents have lost money to the Safe Hands funeral scheme, raising concerns about financial protection.

Question

I will shortly be organising events in my constituency promoting pension credit take-up. Some of my pensioner constituents, however, have lost money to the Safe Hands funeral scheme when trying to prepare for the worst of times. Will the Minister please meet me to discuss their case?

Answer from Torsten Bell

I am glad to hear that my hon. Friend is organising events to drive pension credit take-up, as he did last year. On my hon. Friend's question about the failure of Safe Hands, he is a powerful advocate for his constituents. The Serious Fraud Office has recently announced that two individuals have been charged in relation to the case, and there are live criminal proceedings ongoing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister acknowledged the issue but did not commit to a specific meeting to discuss the case.

How: Live Criminal Proceedings Ongoing

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Q3 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Nearly half a million pensioners living abroad miss out on the state pension increase due to the lack of reciprocal agreements with countries like Canada and Australia.

Question

Nearly half a million pensioners living abroad will miss out on the state pension increase because we do not have reciprocal agreements with countries such as Canada and Australia. Several former Bath constituents have raised this issue with me. What discussions has the Minister had with departmental colleagues to rectify this injustice?

Answer from Torsten Bell

The hon. Member will know that it is a long-standing Government policy that the uprating of pensions is prioritised for residents in the UK, not least because the uprating levels reflect the path of earnings and prices in the UK. She will know that that was the Government's policy under the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition Government, and it remains the case today.

Not addressed: The Minister did not address the specific question about discussions to rectify the lack of reciprocal agreements.

How: Long-Standing Government Policy, Reflects Uk Earnings And Prices

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Q4 Mark Garnier Con Wyre Forest
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Concerns have been raised that government policies on pensions disincentivise private pension savings, leading to increased reliance on state support.

Question

Thanks to this Government's policies on pensions, which actively disincentivise saving into private pension schemes, people will increasingly rely on the support of the state. This is not sustainable. I asked the Minister about this yesterday, and he dodged the question, so I will ask him again: will the Government cancel pension fund mandation and abandon salary sacrifice caps—yes or no?

Answer from Torsten Bell

This Government have set out our policy. On the question of salary sacrifice, any responsible Government should look at the effectiveness of all tax reliefs. If salary sacrifice for pensions had not been reformed, the cost would have risen to £8 billion over the course of this Parliament. That is the cost of the entire Royal Air Force.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister provided context but did not directly answer the yes or no question about cancelling pension fund mandation and salary sacrifice caps.

How: Cost Of Royal Air Force

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