The new State Pension explained

The new State Pension is the regular payment from the government that most people now build up towards retirement. It was introduced by the Pensions Act 2014 and applies to people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016: in practice, men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953¹. It replaced the previous system of a basic State Pension plus a State Second Pension with a single payment based on your own National Insurance record¹.

The full rate is £241.30 a week in 2026/27³. You need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any new State Pension at all, and at least 35 years to get the full amount¹. Between those two points, the payment is worked out proportionally, so most people land somewhere below the headline figure⁴.

What the new State Pension is and who gets it

The new State Pension is a regular payment from the government that replaced the basic State Pension and the State Second Pension⁴. It was brought in by the Pensions Act 2014 and first applied to people reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016². One pension now replaces the former basic and Additional State Pensions, which simplifies the system but also removes some of the add-ons the old system allowed, such as pensions based on a spouse's contributions⁸.

Who gets it is defined by your date of birth and your National Insurance record. You claim the new State Pension if you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, which means men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953¹. Your payment is usually based on your own National Insurance record alone, built up from working, from certain benefits, or from credits such as those for carers¹. The National Insurance record and the State Pension page explains how years become qualifying years.

The scale is large. The National Audit Office reported that 1.9 million pensioners received the new State Pension as of February 2021, and the number has grown every year since as more people reach State Pension age under the new rules⁸. People who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 stay on the old system and keep the State Pension they built up there, including any Additional State Pension⁸.

Full new State Pension: £241.30 a week

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27⁹. That is the rate for someone with at least 35 qualifying years who was never contracted out of the old Additional State Pension. The rate rose from £230.25 a week in April 2026, an increase Which? reported as taking the full yearly amount to £12,547⁵.

Not everyone gets the full rate, and the averages show how much the actual payments vary. Department for Work and Pensions statistics for March 2026 put the mean weekly payment at £217.99 for men and £214.54 for women³. The gap between those averages and the £241.30 maximum reflects two things: people with fewer than 35 qualifying years receive a proportionate amount, and many people who were contracted out before 2016 have a starting amount below the full rate.

For comparison, the old basic State Pension pays a full rate of £184.90 a week, but people on the old system may also receive Additional State Pension on top, so the two headline figures are not directly comparable¹¹. The basic State Pension, SERPS and Additional State Pension page covers the old system in full.

Qualifying years: 10 to get anything, 35 for the full amount

The new State Pension is earned through qualifying years on your National Insurance record. You need 10 qualifying years to get any new State Pension, and at least 35 years to get the full amount¹. If you have more than 10 but fewer than 35 qualifying years, you receive a pro rata amount: each qualifying year above the minimum buys a thirty-fifth of the full payment⁴.

Qualifying years do not have to come only from paid work. Years can count when you are receiving certain benefits, or when you receive National Insurance credits, for example because you are a carer. Carers UK notes that one pension now replaces the former basic and Additional State Pensions, and that carers can build qualifying years through credits rather than earnings⁸.

One important exception affects people who were contracted out of the old State Second Pension before April 2016, usually through a workplace pension. Pension Wise warns that you might need more than 35 years of qualifying National Insurance contributions to get the full State Pension if you were contracted out, because your starting amount was reduced to reflect the pension you built up privately instead¹². Age UK makes the same point: 35 years may not be enough for everyone¹³. If your record has gaps, it may be possible to fill them by paying voluntary contributions, which the voluntary National Insurance page explains.

If you built up National Insurance under the old system

Many people reaching State Pension age now paid National Insurance for years before the new system started in April 2016. Their new State Pension is calculated from a starting amount, which works out what they would have got under the old rules and under the new rules, and uses the higher figure¹.

The old State Pension had two parts: a basic amount based on your National Insurance contributions, and an additional amount also based on your contributions¹⁴. When the new system began, those old-system rights were folded into the starting amount. Where the old rules would have given you more than the new rules, the excess is paid as a Protected Payment on top of your new State Pension¹.

Two features of the old system did not carry over. First, the old system allowed some people to claim a pension based on the contributions of a current or former spouse or civil partner; under the new State Pension, your payment is based on your own record only¹⁴. Second, the rules on sharing pensions on divorce differ between the systems: the basic State Pension cannot be shared on divorce, but the Additional State Pension and the Protected Payment can be shared with a court order¹⁵. The pensions on divorce page covers this in detail.

If you were contracted out of the old State Second Pension, your workplace pension may include a Guaranteed Minimum Pension. Nidirect notes that the increases that used to cover living costs through the Additional State Pension ended when the new State Pension started, with the position on Guaranteed Minimum Pensions handled separately¹⁶. The contracting out and the Guaranteed Minimum Pension page explains how this works.

Checking what you will get: the State Pension forecast

The amount you will get depends on your National Insurance record and when you reach State Pension age¹⁷, so the only way to know your own figure is to check your forecast. A State Pension statement gives you an estimate of how much State Pension you may get, based on your National Insurance contribution records up to now¹⁸. The statement is built from your work history and National Insurance contributions¹⁹.

The online forecast service shows three things: how much State Pension you could be entitled to, when you can claim it, and how to increase the amount if you can²⁰. In Northern Ireland the equivalent service is available through nidirect²⁰. The official booklet "Your new State Pension explained", last updated 6 April 2026, sets out the same information in print²¹.

The forecast is an estimate, not a guarantee. It is based on your record so far, so it can change if you have gaps filled, if you stop accruing years, or if the rules change. The how to check your State Pension forecast page walks through the process step by step, including what to do if the forecast looks wrong.

State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67, then 68

You can claim the new State Pension only when you reach State Pension age, and that age is increasing. Between April 2026 and March 2028, the State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67⁶. The rise is being phased in over two years, so the exact date you reach State Pension age depends on your date of birth, and the Work and Pensions Committee has reported that the increase will reach 67 by April 2028²².

The move to 67 comes from the Pensions Act 2014, the same Act that created the new State Pension³. A further increase is legislated but further away. Current law allows State Pension age to rise from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046, though this timetable could change²⁴. The Office for Budget Responsibility notes that the first independent review of State Pension age proposed bringing the increase to 68 forward to 2037 to 2039 rather than 2044 to 2046, and that rescheduling has been described in official statistics, but the legislated timetable remains 2044 to 2046²⁵.

Because the rise is phased month by month, two people born a few months apart can have different State Pension ages. The what is my State Pension age page has the date tables, and the State Pension age changes for women born in the 1950s page covers the earlier rises that affected women's pension ages.

How to claim the new State Pension

The State Pension is not paid automatically: you have to claim it. You will usually receive a letter from the Pension Service around four months before you reach State Pension age, telling you how to claim and including an invitation code for the online service²⁶. There is no time limit on making a claim, so you will not lose entitlement by claiming later, but payments only start once the claim is made¹².

In England, Scotland or Wales you can claim online through the Get your State Pension service on GOV.UK, or by phone or post through the Pension Service¹². To claim by post you need to phone the Pension Service to have a claim form sent to you, then return the completed form²⁷. If you cannot collect the pension yourself, you can contact your account provider to nominate someone to collect it for you²⁸.

Once claimed, the pension is usually paid every four weeks rather than on the same date each month¹². Your payment day depends on the last two digits of your National Insurance number: 00 to 19 means Monday, 20 to 39 Tuesday, 40 to 59 Wednesday, 60 to 79 Thursday and 80 to 99 Friday²⁶. People living outside the UK claim through the International Pension Centre instead, which the claiming from abroad page covers.

Deferring: around 5.8% more for each year you wait

You do not have to claim your State Pension the moment you reach State Pension age. If you put off claiming, your weekly payments increase by 1% for every 9 weeks you delay, which works out at just under 5.8% for each full year⁷. The minimum deferral period is 9 weeks: anything shorter has no effect⁷.

The official example shows what a year of waiting is worth. If you defer for 52 weeks, you get an extra £13.99 a week, which is 5.8% of the full £241.30²⁹. The trade-off is time: it will take over 15 years of receiving the higher amount to get back 52 weeks of deferred pension, and that payback period increases by around one year for each additional 52 weeks deferred²⁹.

Deferring and backdating interact in a particular way. If you start your claim up to 12 months after you reach State Pension age, you can ask for it to be backdated to when your entitlement started, with a maximum backdating period of 12 months²⁶. If you start your claim more than 12 months after State Pension age, you are treated as having deferred instead, so you get the higher weekly payments rather than the arrears²⁶. Nidirect gives a combined example: deferring the full new State Pension for 78 weeks, then backdating the claim by 12 months, produces a one-off arrears payment of £12,547.60 plus £6.97 a week extra for the remaining 26 weeks⁹.

The deferral rules are more generous on the old system. People who reached State Pension age before April 2016 could get an extra 10.4% for each year deferred, since the basic State Pension increases by 1% for every 5 weeks rather than every 9³⁰. The extra amount from deferring a new State Pension usually increases each year in line with the Consumer Price Index, although it will not increase for some people living abroad²⁹. The deferring your State Pension page works through the sums.

The State Pension is taxable but paid without tax taken off

The State Pension is taxable income, but it is paid without tax taken off at source¹². Instead, your tax code is usually changed so that you pay the extra tax through your other income, such as a workplace or personal pension, or your earnings if you are still working¹².

How the taxable amount is worked out has a quirk. HMRC uses the amounts you were entitled to get over the tax year, rather than the payments you actually received³¹. This matters if you claimed partway through a year or deferred, because the figure on your tax calculation can differ from the money that arrived in your account.

You only pay tax if your total taxable income, including your State Pension, is higher than your personal allowance³¹. The government has announced that from April 2027, if the State Pension is your only income, you will continue not to pay any Income Tax even though the maximum State Pension is expected to be higher than the standard Personal Allowance¹². State Pension rates usually change in April each year³¹. The how pension income is taxed page explains how the tax code adjustment works in practice.

How it goes up each year: the triple lock

Once in payment, the State Pension increases every April under the triple lock. The commitment is to uprate the basic and new State Pension every year by the highest of earnings growth, inflation, or 2.5%². There is also a statutory requirement to uprate both pensions every year at least in line with earnings, which sits underneath the triple lock as a legal floor².

The three measures are specific. The increase matches the highest of inflation as measured by the previous September's Consumer Prices Index, average wage growth between May and July of the previous year, or 2.5%¹². The triple lock was announced in the June 2010 Budget²⁵. In April 2024, for example, both the basic and new State Pension increased by 8.5%, in line with the earnings growth measure³².

The old system's pensions are also protected. People who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 stay on the old system and their State Pension continues to be uprated each year⁸. One difference: the Additional State Pension increases in line with CPI rather than the triple lock, so people on the old system can see their different pension components rise by different percentages¹². The triple lock page covers how each measure is calculated and the debates around the policy.

Living abroad, working on and other situations that change what you get

You can claim the State Pension abroad if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions to qualify, and the amount might be affected by retiring or moving abroad³³. You must choose which country you want your pension to be paid in: it cannot be paid in one country for part of the year and another for the rest³⁴. Payments can also arrive late for practical reasons: if a payment is due in the same week as a US federal holiday, it could arrive one day late³⁴.

Whether the pension keeps rising depends on where you live. Some benefits payable abroad are not normally increased when pension rates go up in the UK³⁵. The extra amount from deferring is treated the same way: it usually rises with CPI each year, but will not increase for some people living abroad, and if you move to a country not on the uprating list, the extra payment stays the same²⁹. If you paid into another country's social security system, this may help you get a UK State Pension or increase the amount, and you may also get a pension from that country³⁶. Working abroad before State Pension age is different again: you might not gain qualifying years for those years, depending on circumstances such as whether you worked for a UK or a foreign company³⁵. An easy read guide from the government covers who can get a State Pension, how to claim from abroad and how the pension is paid³⁷.

Working past State Pension age is increasingly common and the rules are favourable. You do not pay National Insurance once you reach State Pension age, even if you keep working³⁸. One exception is self-employed people who pay Class 4 contributions³⁹. You are still entitled to the National Minimum Wage for any paid work you do after State Pension age³⁸, and you can claim your State Pension while continuing to work, as the claiming while still working page explains.

Other income does not reduce the pension itself. Any money you earn will not affect your State Pension, though it may affect entitlement to other benefits¹³. Saving in a personal pension does not affect your State Pension entitlement either: you can save as much as you like into a personal pension without reducing it⁴¹. The interactions matter elsewhere: an occupational pension or part-time earnings may reduce the amount of New Style Jobseeker's Allowance, for example⁴². Moving into a care home will not affect your State Pension, but it will be counted as income when your contribution to your fees is assessed⁴³. The how pensions affect Pension Credit and other benefits page covers these interactions.

Free help with the State Pension

Several free, official services can help you make sense of your State Pension. The Pension Service handles claims and queries about payment, and nidirect's pension pages provide the same information for people in Northern Ireland, including how to get a State Pension statement¹⁸. The government publishes an easy read guide to claiming from abroad for people who find plain English guides easier³⁷, and an easy read guide to the State Pension abroad³⁶.

For wider retirement planning, Pension Wise offers free guidance on your pension options, and the Pension Wise page explains what the service covers and how to book. The official booklet "Your new State Pension explained" is available free from GOV.UK and is updated as rates change²¹. If something goes wrong with your State Pension, including underpayments, the Department for Work and Pensions has a complaints process, and the Pensions Ombudsman can look at complaints that are not resolved. The pensions section brings together guides on every part of retirement saving, from workplace pensions to what happens to your pension when you die.