The DWP is making an early payment of state pension to some UK claimants in August – and it’s important to be aware of the changes so that you’re not caught off guard
13:00, 30 Jul 2025Updated 13:01, 30 Jul 2025
Warning for any state pensioners who’ve collected less than 35 years in National Insurance
Certain pensioners are being alerted to unexpected payments landing in their bank accounts during August.
According to Gov.UK, the full new State Pension in the UK is £230.25 per week. However, the amount you receive can vary based on your National Insurance record – with the full amount normally needing 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.
However, it is now being warned that some state pension payments will be made at different times than usual. This change affecting individuals who are due to receive their pension payments on the Monday bank holiday of August 25. This comes after news that the state pension age could rise to 74 amid warning of UK ‘tsunami of OAP poverty’.
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Instead, the cash should instead be paid earlier on Friday, August 22. Warning pensioners ahead of this payment so that they are not taken by surprise by the unusual timing, older individuals will also need to stretch their money further than usual until their next following payment date.
Note that only those whose payments are due to fall on the bank holiday will be affected and that most everyone else should receive their money as usual. Households receiving benefits like Universal Credit and PIP will also be affected.
Interestingly, the reason why these payments are moved forward is because the DWP does not process payments on bank holidays, therefore the nearest working day is most often picked, reports Birmingham Live.
Money experts at Spencer Churchill said: “It’s vital that pensioners and benefit claimants are aware of any changes to their payment dates, especially around bank holidays. Missing a payment due to a simple oversight can cause unnecessary stress, particularly for those living on a fixed income”.
Spencer added that “receiving your payment earlier might seem like a good thing, but it also means that you’ll have to stretch that money further until the next instalment”.
Another significant change is that Labour has now confirmed there will be another review to discuss the state pension age. The last review was conducted by Baroness Neville-Rolfe in 2022.
Benefits Consulting Leader at consultancy Gallagher, Mark Pemberthy, pointed out that the previous review referred to the possibility of further increases to the age threshold. He said: “The previous review of the state pension age in 2022 recommended that, on average, people should expect to receive the state pension for 31% of their adult life, and that the total cost of state pension related expenditure should be limited to 6% of GDP”.