The new State Pension: a complete guide

Introduction to the new State Pension

The new State Pension is a regular payment from the government most people can claim when they reach State Pension age. You then get a weekly payment until you die.

The new State Pension applies to people who reached the State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. It is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The full rate of new State Pension is £221.20 a week for the 2024/25 tax year.

State Pension eligibility depends on your age and National Insurance contributions.

What is the new State Pension?

The new State Pension replaced the old or ‘basic’ State Pension.

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 dates you’ll get the old or ‘basic’ State Pension instead of the new State Pension.

How much you get from the new State Pension depends on your National Insurance record. You need a minimum of 10 ‘qualifying years’ of National Insurance contributions to be eligible for any new State Pension.

What is the State Pension age?

State Pension age is the earliest age you can start receiving your State Pension. State Pension age is currently 66 for both men and women in the UK. For people born after 5 April 1960, there is a phased increase in State Pension age:

• To 67 between 2026 and 2028
• To 68 between 2044 and 2046 (but this is under review)

The new State Pension vs basic State Pension: key differences

The State Pension changed on 6 April 2016 for people who reached State Pension age from then onwards.

The old State Pension was made up of the basic State Pension and Additional State Pension. It was quite complicated and it could be difficult to know how much you’d get until you were close to State Pension age.

The new State Pension aims to be simpler, with people knowing from a much younger age how much money they’re likely to get as a State Pension.

The following table shows the key differences between the basic and new State Pension:

Eligibility for the new State Pension

New State Pension eligibility rules mean you need to be a man born on or after 6 April 1951 or a woman born on or after 6 April 1953 to claim.

You also need to have sufficient qualifying years of National Insurance contributions (NICs). National Insurance is a tax you must pay in order to qualify for certain government benefits, including the State Pension. In some situations you can earn NI ‘credits’ in the place of contributions – these count too.

Qualifying years and National Insurance contributions

You usually need 35 years’ worth of qualifying National Insurance contributions to claim a full State Pension.

If you have made between 10 and 35 years of qualifying contributions or credits, you’ll receive a proportionate amount of State Pension. You’ll need at least 10 qualifying years to get any State Pension at all.

You can check your State Pension forecast online.

How much new State Pension can you receive?

The full rate you can receive from the new State Pension is £221.20 a week for the tax year 2024/25. This equals £11,502 a year.

Calculating your State Pension

There’s no need to calculate your State Pension yourself. The government's State Pension calculator will do it for you.

The calculator will show you:

• How much State Pension you could get
• When you can get it
• How to increase it (if you can)

You might be able to inherit an extra payment on top of your new State Pension if you’re widowed. Pension rules allow you to inherit part of your partner’s Additional State Pension that was already built up under the pre-2016 rules.

Factors affecting the pension amount

You don’t have to claim your State Pension when you reach State Pension age. Instead you can “defer” it, and then receive a higher pension amount when you claim.

If you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, your State Pension will increase by 1% for every nine weeks you defer. This works out to just under 5.8% for every full year you delay claiming.

After you claim, you’ll get an extra amount each week. This is taxable and will usually increase each year in line with inflation.

The following table shows the effect of deferring your State Pension for a year.

What is the State Pension triple lock?

The State Pension increases in April each year, based on a system known as the pension ‘triple lock’. The triple lock is a safeguard to ensure the State Pension doesn’t lose value due to inflation.

Under the triple lock guarantee, each year the State Pension will increase based on the highest of the following three figures:

• Inflation (based on September’s Consumer Prices Index)
• Average earnings growth (as measured by the Office for National Statistics)
• 2.5%

In 2023, the CPI rate was 6.7% and the average wage increase was 8.5%. This meant the State Pension increased 8.5% in April 2024 – from £203.85 to £221.20 a week.

How to claim your new State Pension

You’ll be able to claim your new State Pension once you receive an ‘invitation letter’ from the Pension Service. You should get the invitation letter four months before you reach State Pension age. The letter will explain how to claim your State Pension.

If you haven't received an invitation letter when you have two months or less before reaching State Pension age, call the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898.

You won’t automatically get paid your new State Pension when you reach State Pension age – you need to claim it.

There are three ways of claiming your State Pension:

• Online
• By phone
• By post

In each case you will need:

• Proof of identity
• 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
• Your National Insurance number

Steps to claim your new State Pension online

1. Collect the information you will need, detailed above.
2. Locate the ‘invitation code’ from the letter about getting your State Pension.
3. Visit the State Pension website or the NI Direct website if you’re in Northern Ireland.
4. Follow the instructions.

Steps to claim your new State Pension by phone

1. Collect the information you will need, detailed above.
2. Call the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898 (phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm) or the Northern Ireland Pension Service Centre on 0808 100 2658 if you live in Northern Ireland.
3. Follow the instructions given.

Steps to claim your new State Pension by post

1. Collect the information you will need, detailed above.
2. Phone the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898 to get a State Pension claim form posted to you. If you’re in Northern Ireland call the Northern Ireland Pension Service Centre on 0808 100 2658.
3. Fill in the form.
4. Send the form to Pension Service 8, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton WV98 1AF. If you live in Northern Ireland, send it to the Northern Ireland Pension Centre, PO Box 42, Limavady, BT49 4AN.

Timing your claim

You don’t get your State Pension automatically – you have to claim it. You can claim your State Pension up to four months before you reach State Pension age. However, your State Pension doesn't start being paid until you reach State Pension age.

Increasing your State Pension

You may be able to increase your State Pension by making voluntary National Insurance contributions or deferring taking your pension.

Voluntary NI contributions

You need at least 35 ‘qualifying years’ of National Insurance contributions to get the full State Pension. Before you pay voluntary NICs you should check your NI record to find out:

• If you have any gaps
• If you are eligible to pay voluntary contributions
• How much it will cost

You can normally only go back six tax years to fill gaps in your NI record with voluntary contributions.

Deferring Your State Pension

If you want to defer your State Pension, you do not have to do anything. Your pension will automatically be deferred until you claim it. A deferred State Pension will increase the amount you get when you claim it (explained above).

Frequently asked questions

Can I receive State Pension abroad?

If you live abroad, or plan to live abroad when you retire, you can still receive your UK State Pension. You can have your pension paid into a UK bank account or a bank account in the country you’re living in.

If you live part of the year abroad you must choose which country you want your pension to be paid in (you can’t be paid in one country for part of the year and the other for the rest of the year).

Is the State Pension affected by other income?

Your State Pension is not affected by other income, such as from private or workplace pensions, or from work. However, other income may affect your entitlement to other benefits such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.

How does a work pension affect the State Pension?

Saving into a workplace pension does not affect your entitlement to the State Pension. Many people save into a workplace or private pension as the State Pension is not usually enough to live on in the UK.

How much you will get from a workplace pension will depend on your pension contributions and how the funds are invested.

Summary

Understanding how much State Pension you will get is an important part of retirement planning. 

You can contact the Pension Service for State Pension advice. You can also get pensions advice from the Money and Pensions service (this replaced the Pensions Advisory Service), or MoneyHelper.

How much money you need to retire will depend on the type of lifestyle you want.

It is unlikely that the State Pension will be enough to live on comfortably in retirement. You can choose to carry on working after State Pension age, either full-time or part-time. Working will not affect your State Pension.

Many people save in a private or workplace pension to ensure they have sufficient income in retirement.