The full rate of the new State Pension was £203.85 a week from April 2023, equivalent to £10,636.60 a year, according to a table of State Pension rates1. The same weekly figure of £203.85 appears in reporting from June 2023, which gave the annual equivalent as £10,600.202, and in reporting from October 2023, which also gave £10,600.203. The two annual figures differ by £36.40.
The new State Pension is paid to people who reach State Pension age after 5 April 20161. At least 10 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits are needed to receive any new State Pension, and 35 years to receive the full amount2. The basic State Pension, paid to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016, was £156.20 a week, or £8,122.40 a year, in 2023-243.
The uprating is governed by the triple lock, under which the pension rises each year by the highest of September's Consumer Prices Index inflation, average earnings growth for the period from May to July, or 2.5%3. For April 2023, the CPI inflation figure of 10.1% was the element that applied3.
"In 2023-24, the full level of the new state pension is worth £203.85 a week or £10,600.20 a year."
The table below sets out the full new State Pension rate in each April from 2020 to 2023, as published by Royal London1.
| Date effective | Per week | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| April 2023 | £203.85 | £10,636.60 |
| April 2022 | £185.15 | £9,660.86 |
| April 2021 | £179.60 | £9,371.27 |
| April 2020 | £175.20 | £9,141.66 |
Separately, the deadline for paying voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions to fill gaps in records from 2006-07 onwards was extended. HMRC announced on 7 March 2023 that the deadline would move to 31 July, and on 12 June 2023 confirmed it had been pushed back to April 20252. Payments were to be accepted at the existing 2022-23 rates, with Class 3 contributions then costing £15.85 a week, or £824.20 a year2.
Why it matters for households
The weekly rate determines what a person with a full National Insurance record receives once they reach State Pension age, and the amount is paid every four weeks for life1. Because the State Pension is taxable income, the level of the full rate affects how much of the personal allowance remains available to offset other income. With the personal allowance due to remain at £12,570 until 2028, the 2023-24 full new State Pension of £10,600.20 left £1,970 of the allowance unused, according to October 2023 reporting3. Tax is not deducted from the State Pension itself; where someone also has a private or workplace pension, HMRC notifies the pension company, which deducts the tax1.
People with gaps in their National Insurance record may be able to pay voluntary contributions to increase their State Pension, though this does not benefit everyone, including some who were contracted out2. Gaps can arise from low earnings, unemployment without benefit claims, self-employment with small profits, or time living abroad1.
What happens next
The deadline for voluntary contributions covering gaps from 2006-07 onwards was extended to April 20252. The State Pension age, 66 at the time, was due to rise gradually to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028, affecting people born on or after 6 April 19601.
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