The DWP pays an ‘over 80 pension’ for retirees aged 80 and over who get either a basic State Pension of £105.70 per week, or no basic State Pension
Some state pensioners are eligible for an extra £105.70 per week(Image: SashaFoxWalters via Getty Images)
State pensioners aged 80 and over could receive an additional £105.70 per week from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with a single claim. The DWP offers an ‘over 80 pension’ to retirees who either receive a basic State Pension of £105.70 per week or no basic State Pension at all.
To qualify for the basic State Pension, men must have been born before 6 April 1951, and women before 6 April 1953. Following a 4.1% increase in April this year, the basic State Pension is now worth £176.45 per week if you receive the full amount, equating to a maximum of £9,145.40 annually.
To receive the full rate, men born between 1945 and 1951 typically require 30 qualifying years of National Insurance (NI), or 44 qualifying years if they were born between 1945 and 1951. Women, on the other hand, generally need 30 qualifying years if they were born between 1950 and 1953, or 39 qualifying years if they were born before 1950. It comes as the DWP confirms PIP review times and how long benefit claimants may need to wait
Therefore, if your basic State Pension is less than £176.45 per week, it indicates that you do not have the full number of qualifying NI years. However, if you’re 80 or over and your weekly payments are below £105.70, you can enhance your income by claiming the over 80 pension, which can provide up to £105.70 per week in the 2025 to 2026 tax year, as stated by the DWP.
The amount you’ll receive if you’re eligible depends on how much basic State Pension you get (if any), but if it’s less than £105.70 per week, you could have the difference paid up to this amount, reports the Express.
The DWP has stated that an 80 year old receiving a basic State Pension of £43 per week, for instance, would receive an additional £62.70 to increase their weekly amount to £105.70. However, if you have no basic State Pension at all, you’d receive the full amount of £107.70 per week from the DWP.
Over a year, the over 80 pension can provide claimants with a maximum of £5,496.40 in their pension pot. This pension is only accessible to individuals aged 80 or above and cannot be claimed by those who reached the State Pension age – currently 66 years old for both men and women – on or after 6 April 2016.
You must have resided in the UK for at least 10 years within a 20-year period, which must include the day before your 80th birthday or any subsequent day, or you were ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar on your 80th birthday, or the date you submitted your claim for the over 80 pension. The earliest you can claim is three months prior to your 80th birthday.
The DWP clarified: “The over 80 pension is a State Pension for people aged 80 or over. To be eligible you must get either a basic State Pension of less than £105.70 a week, or no basic State Pension at all.
“It can give you £105.70 a week in the 2025 to 2026 tax year. What you get depends on how much basic State Pension you get, if any. If you do not get the basic State Pension or you get less than £105.70 a week, you could get the difference paid up to this amount. You cannot get the over 80 pension if you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.”
In contrast to the basic and new State Pension arrangements, your entitlement to the over 80 pension doesn’t rely on National Insurance contributions.
Those making a claim should be aware that the over-80 pension is considered taxable income, meaning any other benefits you receive could potentially be impacted.
You can make an application for the scheme by obtaining a claim form from your nearest Jobcentre Plus, or by ringing the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898. The earliest you can lodge a claim is up to three months prior to your 80th birthday, or at any point afterwards.