State Pension Guide

The State Pension is the regular payment you receive from the government when you reach State Pension age. This guide explains how much you'll get, how NI years affect it, and what to do if you have gaps in your record.

Full new State Pension (2025/26): £230.25 per week (£11,973/year). You need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to receive the full amount. You need at least 10 years to receive anything.

When Do You Get It?

The current State Pension age is 66 for both men and women. It is planned to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046 (though the 68 increase is under review and could be brought forward).

The State Pension is paid every 4 weeks into your bank account. It's taxable income, though most people won't pay tax on it unless they have other income too.

New vs Old State Pension

The new State Pension applies to people who reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. If you reached it before that date, you're on the basic State Pension (different rules and amounts apply — check GOV.UK for your specific situation).

How National Insurance Years Work

You build up qualifying years through:

  • Working and paying NI — as an employee or self-employed person earning above the lower earnings limit
  • NI credits — automatically awarded when you claim certain benefits including Universal Credit, Child Benefit (for children under 12), Carer's Allowance, or Jobseeker's Allowance
  • Voluntary contributions — you can pay to fill gaps (see below)
Important: If you claimed Child Benefit in the past but opted out of payments to avoid the High Income Child Benefit Charge — check whether you still registered for the NI credit. Many parents missed out on pension-qualifying years as a result.

Check Your State Pension Forecast

You can see your current NI record and estimated State Pension amount online:

  1. Go to gov.uk/check-state-pension
  2. Sign in with your Government Gateway account
  3. You'll see your current qualifying years, any gaps, and your forecast

The forecast assumes you continue working or claiming credits until State Pension age. It shows what you'd get if you stopped today too.

Filling Gaps in Your NI Record

If you have gaps — years where you didn't work or claim credits — you may be able to fill them by paying Class 3 voluntary National Insurance contributions.

Cost (2024/25)

£17.45 per week, or £907.40 for a full year. Each year you buy adds approximately £6.58/week (£342/year) to your State Pension for life.

How far back can you go?

Normally 6 years. But a temporary extension allowed gaps back to 2006 to be filled — check GOV.UK for the current rules as this has changed.

Is it worth it?

In most cases yes — you typically recover the cost in 3 years. But check your forecast first to see how many years you actually need.

Before paying voluntary contributions: Check whether you'll reach 35 years anyway through future work or credits — there's no benefit to exceeding 35 qualifying years.

Deferring Your State Pension

If you don't claim your State Pension when you reach State Pension age, it grows. For every 9 weeks you defer, your pension increases by 1% — that's roughly 5.8% extra for each year deferred. Whether deferral makes sense depends on your health, other income, and how long you expect to live.

Pension Credit

If your total income in retirement is low, you may be entitled to Pension Credit — a means-tested top-up that can add £75+ per week for single people. Pension Credit also unlocks other benefits including free TV licence (if over 75), Council Tax Reduction, and help with housing costs. Around 1 million eligible pensioners don't claim it.

Check if you're eligible at GOV.UK →

Also useful: MoneyHelper State Pension guide — government-backed, plain-English overview.