The new State Pension
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1. Eligibility
You’ll be able to claim the new State Pension when you reach State Pension age if you’re:
- a man born on or after 6 April 1951
- a woman born on or after 6 April 1953
If you were born before, these rules do not apply. Instead, you’ll get the basic State Pension. You may also get Additional State Pension.
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) and easy read format.
Your National Insurance record
You’ll need 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any new State Pension.
A qualifying year is one in which you were:
- working and made National Insurance contributions
- getting National Insurance credits for example if you were unemployed, ill or a parent or carer
- paying voluntary National Insurance contributions
You might also qualify if you’ve lived or worked abroad or paid reduced rate National Insurance for married women.
The qualifying years on your National Insurance record affect how much State Pension you get. Check your State Pension forecast to see what you might get when you reach State Pension age.
Your spouse or civil partner’s pension
Your new State Pension is usually based on your own National Insurance record. In some cases you might inherit State Pension or increase it through a spouse or civil partner.
2. What you'll get
Your State Pension amount depends on your National Insurance record.
Check your State Pension forecast to find out how much you could get when you reach State Pension age. It also shows your National Insurance record.
The full rate of new State Pension is £221.20 a week. Your amount could be different depending on:
- if you were contracted out before 2016
- the number of National Insurance qualifying years you have
- if you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016
If you’re getting less than £221.20 a week
You might need more National Insurance qualifying years to increase your State Pension.
If your National Insurance record started before April 2016
You may have been contracted out. While you were contracted out, you or your employer paid more into your workplace or private pension and less into your State Pension.
If you were contracted out, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.
If your National Insurance record started after April 2016
If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.
If you’re getting more than £221.20 a week
If you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016 and would have got more State Pension under the old rules, you’ll get a ‘protected payment’. This is paid on top of the full rate of new State Pension.
Annual increases
The new State Pension increases each year by whichever is the highest:
- earnings – the average percentage growth in wages (in Great Britain)
- prices – the percentage growth in prices in the UK measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
- 2.5%
If you have a protected payment, it increases each year in line with the CPI.
Further information
You can read ‘Your new State Pension explained’ for more detailed information about the new State Pension scheme.
3. How to claim
You will not get your new State Pension automatically - you have to claim it.
You’ll need:
- the date of your most recent marriage, civil partnership or divorce
- the dates of any time spent living or working abroad
- your bank or building society details
- any social security numbers that you have for foreign state pension schemes
If you’re applying online, you’ll also need the invitation code from the letter about getting your State Pension.
If you have not received an invitation letter but you are within 3 months of reaching your State Pension age, you can request an invitation code.
How to claim is different if you claim from Northern Ireland or if you claim from abroad, including the Channel Islands.
Other ways to apply
Claim by phone
If you’ll reach State Pension age in the next 4 months, you can phone the Pension Service to claim.
Claim by post
You need to phone the Pension Service to get a State Pension claim form posted to you.
Send your completed form to:
Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3
Do not write anything except the freepost address on the envelope. You do not need a postcode or a stamp.
After you apply
You must tell the Pension Service if your circumstances change.
If you want to keep working
You can claim your new State Pension even if you carry on working. However, you can delay (defer) claiming your state pension to increase the amount you get.
If you also want to claim a state pension from another country
You might be able to make a single claim in the UK. The state pension schemes in other countries you’ve lived or worked in could then be told that you’ve made a claim.
If they’re told, those other schemes will let you know if you’re eligible. You will not need to make separate claims to them.
This applies to state pension schemes in:
- the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
- any country that has a social security agreement with the UK, apart from Canada and New Zealand
If you want to claim state pensions from any other countries that have not been named, including Canada and New Zealand, apply to their pension schemes separately.
Claiming an Isle of Man pension
If you’re eligible for a state pension from the Isle of Man, it will be separate to your UK new State Pension.
Find out if you’re eligible and how to claim your Isle of Man pension. You’ll get one payment for your UK pension and a separate payment for your Isle of Man pension.
You cannot defer an Isle of Man pension after 6 April 2016.
4. When you're paid
After you’ve claimed your State Pension you’ll get a letter about your payments.
The new State Pension is usually paid into your account every 4 weeks. If you want to change the account, tell the Pension Service.
There are different rules if you live abroad.
Your first payment
You’ll be asked when you want to start getting your State Pension when you claim. Your first payment will be no later than 5 weeks after the date you choose.
You’ll get a full payment every 4 weeks after that.
You might get part of a payment before your first full payment. The letter confirming your State Pension payment will tell you what to expect.
Your payment day
The day your pension is paid depends on your National Insurance number.
You might be paid earlier if your normal payment day is a bank holiday.
| Last 2 digits of your National Insurance number | Payment day of the week |
|---|---|
| 00 to 19 | Monday |
| 20 to 39 | Tuesday |
| 40 to 59 | Wednesday |
| 60 to 79 | Thursday |
| 80 to 99 | Friday |
5. How to increase your retirement income
You can get advice from an independent financial adviser if you want more information on increasing your retirement income.
Adding onto your National Insurance record
Each qualifying year after 6 April 2016 added to your National Insurance record increases your State Pension amount, up to the full rate (£221.20 a week).
Get a State Pension forecast or check your State Pension award letter to see what you’ll get.
You might be able to add more National Insurance qualifying years by:
- working and paying National Insurance contributions until you reach State Pension age
- getting National Insurance credits
- making voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill gaps in your record
Years where you were contracted out count as qualifying years and are not gaps in your National Insurance record.
Workplace or personal pensions
You can pay into a workplace pension or personal pension.
Working after State Pension age
You can keep working after you reach State Pension age. If you do, you’ll stop paying National Insurance.
Delaying (deferring) your State Pension
Your State Pension will increase every week you delay (defer) claiming it, as long as you defer for at least 9 weeks.
For every year you delay claiming, your weekly payments increase by just under 5.8%.
You cannot build up this extra State Pension if you get certain benefits. Deferring can also affect how much you can get in benefits.
Other benefits if you’ve reached State Pension age
If you’re on a low income, you may be eligible to apply for Pension Credit, even if you’ve saved money for retirement.
If you have a disability and someone helps look after you, you may be eligible for Attendance Allowance.
You may be eligible for other benefits and financial support.
6. Inheriting or increasing State Pension from a spouse or civil partner
You might be able to inherit an extra payment on top of your new State Pension if you’re widowed.
You will not be able to inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age.
Inheriting Additional State Pension
You might inherit part of your deceased partner’s Additional State Pension if your marriage or civil partnership with them began before 6 April 2016 and one of the following applies:
- your partner reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016
- they died before 6 April 2016 but would have reached State Pension age on or after that date
It will be paid with your State Pension.
Inheriting a protected payment
You’ll inherit half of your partner’s protected payment if your marriage or civil partnership with them began before 6 April 2016 and:
- they reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016
- they died on or after 6 April 2016
It will be paid with your State Pension.
Inheriting extra State Pension or a lump sum
You may inherit part of or all of your partner’s extra State Pension or lump sum if:
- they died while they were deferring their State Pension (before claiming) or they had started claiming it after deferring
- they reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016
- you were married or in the civil partnership when they died
Your partner’s National Insurance record and your State Pension
The new State Pension is based on your own National Insurance record.
If you paid reduced rate National Insurance for married women, you might be able to increase your new State Pension if you’re eligible.
If you get divorced or dissolve your civil partnership
The courts can make a ‘pension sharing order’ if you get divorced or dissolve your civil partnership.
You’ll get an extra payment on top of your State Pension if your ex-partner is ordered to share their Additional State Pension or protected payment with you.
Your State Pension will be reduced if you’re ordered to share your Additional State Pension or protected payment with your partner.
7. If you've lived or worked abroad
If you’ve lived or worked in another country, this could affect your claim for the new State Pension. How it could affect your claim depends on:
- how many qualifying years you have in your National Insurance record
- which countries you’ve lived or worked in
You’ll be asked to provide details about time spent abroad when you claim the new State Pension.
You might also be eligible for a foreign state pension as well as the new State Pension in the UK. Contact the foreign pension service to find out about your eligibility.
If you’re planning to claim the new State Pension while living abroad, find out how living abroad can affect your pension payments and find out where you’ll need to pay tax on your pension.
If you have less than 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record
You usually need 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to be eligible.
You could still be eligible if you made contributions to the state pensions in:
- the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
- any country that has a social security agreement with the UK
You could also be eligible if you’ve lived in:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia, before 5 April 2001
If you made contributions in the EEA, Switzerland or a country with a social security agreement
Time spent making contributions in these countries can be added to the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record.
That time will be added on when you make a claim.
If you have 10 or more years in total, you could get the new State Pension.
However, the amount you actually get paid will only be based on the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record.
Example
You have 7 qualifying years from the UK on your National Insurance record when you reach State Pension age.
You worked in an EEA country for 16 years and paid contributions to that country’s state pension.
You will meet the minimum qualifying years to get the new State Pension because of the time you worked abroad. Your new State Pension amount will only be based on the 7 years of National Insurance contributions you made in the UK.
If you’ve lived in Canada, New Zealand or Australia
If you currently live in the UK, time spent living in Canada or New Zealand could be added to the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record. Time spent living in Australia before 5 April 2001 can also be added.
If you do not currently live in the UK, you might also be able to add this time if all of the following apply:
- you currently live in the EEA or Switzerland
- you’re a UK, EEA or Swiss national
- you’ve lived in the same country since before 1 January 2022
Wherever you live, you’ll also have to meet other criteria. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will work out whether you meet these criteria when you make a claim.
If you meet the criteria and the time can be added, you could get the new State Pension if you have 10 or more years in total.
The amount you get paid will be based on the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record and the time added on from these countries.
You can only get paid up to the full rate of the new State Pension.
If you have 10 or more qualifying years on your National Insurance record
You can get more qualifying years added to your National Insurance record if you made state pension contributions in:
- the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
You can also get more money from your new State Pension if you’ve lived in:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia, before 5 April 2001
If you made contributions in the EEA or Switzerland
Usually, if you have not made UK National Insurance contributions for a full year then it will not count as a qualifying year.
However, partial years of making UK National Insurance contributions could count if:
- you made UK National Insurance contributions for part of a year
- you also made state pension contributions in that same year to any country in the EEA or Switzerland
The time spent paying UK National Insurance contributions will then be added onto your qualifying years when you make your claim.
If you’ve lived in Canada, New Zealand or Australia
If you currently live in the UK, time spent living in Canada or New Zealand could be added to the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record. Time spent living in Australia before 5 April 2001 can also be added.
If you do not currently live in the UK, you might also be able to add this time if all of the following apply:
- you currently live in the EEA or Switzerland
- you’re a UK, EEA or Swiss national
- you’ve lived in the same country since before 1 January 2022
Wherever you live, you’ll also have to meet other criteria. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will work out whether you meet these criteria when you make a claim.
If you meet the criteria and the time can be added, then the amount you get paid will be based on the qualifying years in your UK National Insurance record and the time added on.
You can only get paid up to the full rate of the new State Pension.