Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, given the figures for the consumer prices index and national average earnings indices, and the percentage increases in those indices that are published by the Office for National Statistics, how each of those figures are used to determine increases in state pensions, including what rules are used to round the relevant figures.

The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review State Pension and benefit rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant State Pension or benefit rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value. Following this review, State Pension and benefit rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.

Although the statutory minimum for the increase in basic State Pension and the full rate of the new State Pension is at least the growth in earnings, the Government has a manifesto commitment to up-rate those benefits using the Triple Lock (the highest of the growth in prices, average earnings or 2.5%) throughout this Parliament.

The percentage rate chosen in the Secretary of State’s Review is applied to the current full weekly rates of the basic and new State Pensions. The resulting amounts are rounded to the nearest 5p. This results in a percentage rate which is applied to each individual’s existing pension payment.

The Triple Lock does not apply to other elements of the State Pension – such as the additional State Pension, Protected Payments, deferred increments and other elements. These are all up-rated by prices (CPI). After applying the CPI percentage to the amounts in payment, the resulting weekly amount is rounded to the nearest penny for these components.

The Office for National Statistics will publish the average weekly earnings (AWE) figure for year to May to July 2025 on 14 October and the consumer price index (CPI) for year to September 2025 on 22 October. This year’s up-rating review will commence once the ONS figures for AWE and CPI are released and will conclude at the end of November.