State Pension payment dates Easter 2024

16 January 2024

If you are due to receive your State Pension at Easter 2024, it is likely that you will get your money earlier than usual. With government departments and banks closed or short-staffed on bank holidays, the usual procedure is to pay pensioners before the Easter break.

So far, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) doesn’t appear to have officially confirmed precise dates for the State Pension at Easter. However, in previous years its approach has been to pay people their pension due on Easter Monday or Good Friday on the Thursday before Easter.

This follows the typical procedure where your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday: the government usually pays people their pension on the working day before.

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When will State Pension payments for Easter 2004 be made?

For 2024, Easter falls as follows:

• Good Friday – Friday 29 March

• Easter Sunday – Sunday 31 March

• Easter Monday – Monday 1 April.

This means that if your State Pension payment is due between 29 March and 1 April, it is likely that DWP will pay you on Thursday 28 March. This change in payment date happens automatically, and there is no need to contact DWP about the Easter pension payments for 2024. 

(However, should you need to contact the Pension Service within DWP for any reason, for example, if you notice after Easter that you haven’t received your State Pension, contact details are here.)

When does the increase in State Pension start?

Thanks to the ‘triple lock’ principle, April 2024 sees an 8.5% increase in the State Pension. This means that people receiving the New State Pension of £203.85 per week will see an increase to £221.50.

However, the increase kicks in at the beginning of the new tax year (6 April) so pensioners will see it in the bank account after Easter. Anyone paid on Thursday 28 March will be paid at the existing level.

Are other benefit payment dates affected by Easter?

It’s not just the State Pension payments in Easter 2024 that will see a change in date. The DWP will likely pay a number of other benefits early for people whose payments are due at Easter. 

For example, the same principle applies for Pension Credit. Easter payments in 2024 for this and these other State benefits will also typically be paid on the Thursday before Easter:

• Attendance Allowance

• Carer’s Allowance

• Disability Living Allowance

• Employment Support Allowance

• Income Support

• Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Personal Independence Payment

• Universal Credit

The same or a similar approach is typical for these HMRC benefits:

• Working Tax Credits

• Child Tax Credits

• Child Benefit

• Guardian’s Allowance

What about benefit payments for other bank holidays in 2024?

The principle of early payments when they are due on a Bank Holiday is likely to apply at other times of the year, too. Based on previous years’ experience, the changes should look something like this:

• Early May Bank Holiday (Monday 6 May) – payment by Friday 3 May.

• Spring Bank Holiday (Monday 27 May) – payment by Friday 24 May.

• Summer Bank Holiday (Monday 26 August) – payment by Friday 23 August.

• Christmas holidays – payments due on 25-27 December will arrive before Christmas.

Could you boost your State Pension with an annuity?

If you have been saving into certain types of personal or workplace pensions, you may be able to turn your savings into regular income with an annuity. With annuity providers offering some of the best annuity rates for years, you might be able to enjoy more income than you realise.

At Retirement Line, our Annuity Specialists can compare the best annuity rates from leading annuity providers. You could also benefit from the preferential rates we secure due to our position as the UK’s number one annuity broker* and our close relationships with the UK’s best annuity providers. 

Why not get a free no-obligation annuity quote? Or to speak with an Annuity Specialist directly, you can call us on 0800 652 1316, request a call back or email us at info@retirementline.co.uk. 

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Read more from the Retirement Line team: A guide to how the State Pension works