The over 80 pension is worth up to £110.75 per week (Image: Getty)
State pensioners aged 80 or over can get a payment boost of up to £110.75 per week with a single claim to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Pensioners aged 80 and over who get a basic State Pension of less than £110.75, or have no basic State Pension at all, can top up their income with the DWP’s ‘over 80 pension.’ The old, basic State Pension is paid to men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953, and is currently worth a maximum of £184.90 per week in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. For those with a full qualifying National Insurance record, it means you can get up to £9,614.80 in basic State Pension payments in this tax year, but not everyone will be eligible for the full amount.
If you get less than £184.90 in State Pension payments per week then this will be due to having fewer than the required number of qualifying National Insurance years, or because you were contracted out of the additional State Pension. But in cases where weekly State Pension payments are less than £110.75 and you’re over the age of 80, you can get a top up payment from the DWP through the over 80 pension.
The ‘over 80 pension’ – also known as a Category D State Pension – is paid to eligible older pensioners aged 80 and over who are on a low income.
Following a 4.8% uplift earlier this year in April, the Category D weekly rate is now worth up to £110.75 per for the 2026/27 tax year, up from £105.70 per week previously.
The Category D pension is not a separate weekly payment but rather a top-up to your existing basic State Pension, which is usually paid every four weeks.
As such, older pensioners who are entitled to claim it can top up their weekly payments up to £110.75 per week, giving their pension pot a welcome boost.
If you’re eligible to claim the over 80 pension, the amount you’ll get from the DWP per week depends on how much basic State Pension you get (if any), but if it’s less than £110.75, you can get the difference paid up to this amount.
The DWP explains: “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 £110.75 a week, you could get the difference paid up to this amount.
“For example, you’re 80 years old and you get £45 a week basic State Pension, your basic State Pension may be topped up by £66.75 to £110.75 a week.”
The over 80 pension is only available to people aged 80 or over and you can’t claim it if you reached State Pension age on or after April 6, 2016.
To be eligible, you must have been a UK resident for at least 10 years out of a 20 year period, which must include the day before you turned 80 or any day after, 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.
Unlike the basic and new State Pension, your eligibility for the over 80 pension isn’t based on National Insurance contributions. Claimants should also note that the over 80 pension counts as taxable income, so if you’re claiming any other benefits these could be affected.
You can claim the pension top-up by requesting a form from your local Jobcentre Plus, or by calling the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898. The earliest you can submit a claim is up to three months before your 80th birthday, or any time after.
