Older State Pensioners Feel The Sysem Is Unfair As They Missed Out From 2016

24th November 2025

Many older pensioners (i.e., people who reached State Pension age before the "new" State Pension was introduced in April 2016) feel that things are unfair. There is quite a bit of evidence for why they feel that way, plus real policy tensions.

What's the Situation for Older Pensioners (Pre-2016)

Different Pension Systems

People who retired before 6 April 2016 are typically on the "old" State Pension system (basic state pension + additional pension, SERPS / S2P).

Under this old system, only the basic state pension (part of the old scheme) is uprated with the triple lock. But other parts (e.g., the “additional pension” such as SERPS / S2P) are only increased in line with CPI inflation, not with earnings / the full triple-lock mechanism.

That means many older pensioners’ total pensions don’t benefit as strongly from the triple lock as the “new state pensioners” do.

How Much They’re “Missing Out”

According to MoneyWeek, about 6.57 million older pensioners (on old-style pensions with additional pension elements) will not see the full triple-lock uplift because their extra pension parts are only rising by inflation.

The Independent also notes that a large number (millions) of current pensioners reached State Pension age under the old system, which complicates any “one-size-fits-all” approach.
The Independent

Specific calculations suggest that older pensioners on only the basic old pension will get a smaller weekly increase than new pensioners: e.g., old basic pension goes up by £6.95/week vs ~£9.07/week for the new-state-pension equivalent (in one projected rise) — meaning they could end up £110 a year worse off compared to new state pensioners.

Voices of Discontent

The Guardian reports on older pensioners who are really struggling: for example, someone on the old basic state pension (pre-2016) might be getting £169.50/week, whereas someone on the “new” state pension is getting £221.20/week — a very real and significant gap.

UNISON (a big public-sector union) has also raised this issue: in its retired members’ agenda, they explicitly call for action to “reduce the gap between the old state pension and the new,” because older pensioners are not being kept on equal footing.

A former DWP employee has publicly warned that there is effectively a “two-tier” uprating system: triple lock covers only certain parts for old-state-pensioners, and not all their pension components.

Structural / Systemic Challenges

According to DWP documentation, when calculating the “starting amount” for the new State Pension (for people who had old-system NI records), adjustments were made for “contracted-out deductions.”

This means some people’s new-state-pension “starting amount” is lower because they had periods where they paid less NI (e.g. during contracted-out years).

There are also limits on how many “qualifying years” some older people can add to boost their pension: for certain cohorts, once they reached pension age after 2016, they cannot add further qualifying years.

Advocacy & Policy Proposals

Some advocacy groups (like Age UK and other pensioner charities) have long argued that older pensioners deserve stronger protection and more equitable treatment.

There’s a clear call (from unions, retired groups, and campaigners) for reform — not just of uprating, but of how the two systems (old vs new) differ in real value and fairness.

Do Older Pensioners Feel It’s Unfair — Yes, in Many Cases

Resentment / frustration
There is a strong sentiment, especially among older pensioners, that they are “missing out” compared to newer retirees who got the flatter, more generous new State Pension.

Real financial impact
The difference in weekly payments and how their pension is uprated isn’t just theoretical — for many that gap is big enough to affect their cost of living, especially in an inflation-risky world.

Institutional inequality
The fact that only certain “parts” of the old pension are triple-locked reinforces a two-tier system that many believe is unfair.

But It’s Not That Simple

Some older pensioners actually do receive a relatively high pension because they built up a lot of Additional State Pension (SERPS / S2P) before 2016. For them, the “old system” was quite advantageous in its day.

The government argues that differences in how old and new pensions work reflect the different rules under which people earned their entitlements (NI contributions, contracting out, etc.).

There are transitional safeguards for example, when the new State Pension was introduced, there were “starting amounts” calculated to make sure people didn’t lose out compared to what they’d have gotten under the old rules.
ombudsman.org.uk

Some older pensioners may already top up their income via Pension Credit or other benefits.

Many older pensioners legitimately feel that the system is unfair as they see younger/newer pensioners getting higher pensions or better growth, and they rightly worry about widening gaps.

There is real evidence (from analysis, unions, former policy workers) that the design of pension uprating and “triple lock coverage” disadvantages large groups of pre-2016 pensioners.

Whether this will lead to meaningful reform is uncertain, but there is enough political and social pressure that it’s a live issue.

For now, older pensioners are in a kind of structural limbo - they’re protected, but not equally, and that inequality is being actively debated.