New State Pension payment rates for this year and four ways to boost monthly income

dailyrecord.co.uk:

State Pension currently provides essential financial support for over 12.4 million older people across the UK, including 981,399 retirees living in Scotland.On April 11, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) increased most benefits and State Pension payments by 3.1% and people should start to see that uprating land in their bank accounts over the next few weeks.People receiving State Pension can choose to be paid either weekly or every four weeks - not to be confused with being paid monthly as the DWP makes 13, four-weekly payments each year over a 52-week period which can result in two payments being made in the same calendar month.There's a lot more to State Pension than just two types of payments and there are a few ways to increase the amount you are paid, mostly by increasing your National Insurance contributions.Below are the new rates of pay for those on the Old Basic and Full New State Pension, plus four things that might be able to boost those payments.You are able to claim the new State Pension if you’re: The earliest you can get the new State Pension is when you reach State Pension age - find yours here.If you reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, you will get the State Pension under the old rules instead.New State Pension ratesYou can claim the basic State Pension if you’re:To get the basic State Pension you must have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions.Old Basic State Pension ratesMost of these involve setting aside some time to check if you are eligible or have missed out on National Insurance credits, so be patient and don't dismiss them - especially the benefits, as they could provide regular, additional payments and open the door to other discounts and reductions on