A welcome pay boost is on the way for millions of older Britons as the state pension increases 8.5 percent in April.

This will apply to all state pension payments with the new rates coming into effect from April 6, when the new tax year begins.

This is how the increase will apply to the full amount for the basic and new state pension:

Full basic state pension

This is increasing from £156.20 a week to £169.50 a week, which will appear on a bank statement for each four-week pay period as a £678 payment.

With the increase, the full basic state pension is going up from £8,122.40 a year to £8,814 a year, an increase of £691.60.

Full new state pension

This payment is going up from £203.85 a week to £221.20 a week, meaning recipients will see get a payment of £884.80 for each pay period.

Payments will go up from £10,600.20 a year to £11,502.40 a year, an increase of £902.20 a year.

You can check how much state pension you should receive using the state pension forecast tool on the Government website, or through your personal tax account.

Full new state pension

This payment is going up from £221.20 a week (up from £203.85 a week)

Other payment increases

Another important pay increase around the same time that will affect many state pensioners is the increase to benefits, which are going up from April 8.

Payments are going up 6.7 percent, including Pension Credit, with the income top-up element increasing from £201.05 a week to £218.15 a week for single claimants and from £306.85 a week to £332.95 a week for couples.

The Savings Credit element is going up from £15.94 a week to £17.29 a week for single claimants or for couples, from £17.84 a week to £19.39 a week.

Increasing your state pension

You may be able to increase your state pension by voluntarily paying National Insurance contributions.

A person typically needs 30 years of contributions to get the full basic state pension and 35 years of contributions to get the full new state pension.

Before paying for contributions, if you are a state pensioner you should contact the Pension Service to check if your state pension will go up as a result, as this may not be the case.

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