How much state pension will I get?
There are several things that determine how much state pension you'll get when you reach state pension age. Here's how to work out your entitlement.
Laura Miller
Knowing exactly how much money you will receive from the state pension is an important part of planning for your retirement.
The new state pension in the 2026/27 tax year is £240 a week, but not everyone will get this amount.
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Here’s how you can find out how much state pension you can get and at what age you can claim it.
How does the state pension work?
The state pension is a payment you get from the government when you reach state pension age.
To be eligible for it, you need to have made National Insurance contributions for a set number of years. The minimum is at least 10 years to get the minimum state pension.
If you are employed, your employer will have paid NICs on your behalf out of your wages.
If you are self-employed, you will have paid NICs through your self-assessment tax return.
You can also top up your NICs record to potentially increase how much you get from the state pension, while some people – like carers or parents – can get National Insurance credits when not in traditional work.
Your NICs go into a national ring-fenced pot from which the state pension is paid. When you retire, you will receive an amount of state pension that's proportionate to what you've put in or received in credit (more on this below).
The state pension is not linked to personal pensions, which work differently. Workplace pensions depend on the performance of the stocks and shares you have invested in and then how you access the pot, which is typically through drawdown or by purchasing an annuity.
The size of the state pension depends on government policy; the current mechanism for this is the “triple lock”, which ensures payments rise by the highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5%. See our article on “what is the triple lock” for more.
What types of state pension are there in the UK?
There are currently two state pensions in the UK. The one you will get will depend on when you were born.
Basic (old) state pension
The old, basic state pension applies to men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953. Those eligible will have already hit state pension age, which is currently 66.
The full basic state pension is worth £184.90 a week (£9,614 a year) for the 2026/27 tax year.
To access this full amount, you need:
- 30 qualifying years of NICs if you are a man born between 1945 and 1951
- 44 qualifying years of NICs if you are a man born before 1945
- 30 qualifying years of NICs if you are a woman born between 1950 and 1953
- 39 qualifying years of NICs if you are a woman born before 1950
Having more than the full number of years of NICs will not entitle you to a higher pension payout.
If you don't have the full number of years of contributions, the amount you will get will be reduced proportionately.
So, if you have 20 years of NICs but require 30 for the full amount, you will receive 20/30ths of the full amount (currently £117.63 a week).
New state pension
The basic (old) state pension was replaced by the new state pension in 2016. Like the old version, the amount you get is determined by how many years of NICs you have.
The new state pension is for men born on or after 6 April 1951, and women born on or after 6 April 1953.
You must have 35 years worth of NICs to get the full amount, and at least 10 years to qualify for it at all.
The maximum you can receive under the new state pension is £241.30 a week (£12,547 a year) in the 2026/27 tax year.
The amount you get will be proportionately lower if you have between 10 and 34 years of contributions on your record.
For example, if you have 20 years of NICs, you will get 20/35ths of the full amount (£131.57 a week).
How much state pension will I get?
To be eligible for anything from the new state pension, you need to have a minimum of 10 years of NICs.
If you made NICs before 6 April 2016 (when the basic state pension was replaced with the new state pension) then these are used to work out a “starting amount”.
This will be either how much you would have got under the old state pension rules, or what you’d get if the new state pension had been in place throughout your working life – whichever is higher.
Each year of contributions after 6 April 2016 will add around £5 to your state pension, until you reach the 2025/26 maximum of £230.25.
You can get a pensions forecast from the government showing how much state pension you will get, through the gov.uk website. You will need to register for the Government Gateway to use the state pension forecast tool.
What counts as National Insurance contributions for the state pension?
National Insurance contributions are paid once you are 16 or over and start earning above a particular threshold.
For employees, that threshold is earning over £242 a week, while for the self-employed they are classed as being paid once they make a profit of above £12,570 per year.
Be aware that many people have gaps in their National Insurance record.
Credits are also applied automatically if you receive Child Benefit, something many parents are missing out on. You can find out more about eligibility for National Insurance credits on the gov.uk website.
Can I top up my state pension?
If you haven’t accumulated enough NICs for the full state pension, you may be able to purchase some.
This may be the case because you took time out of your career to raise children, care for someone, or go back into education.
These gaps could mean that you dip below the number of years of NICs needed for the full state pension.
By purchasing voluntary NICs, you can add extra years to your overall record and increase the size of the state pension you get. But keep in mind, this isn't a suitable option for everyone – see our article on when you shouldn’t top up your state pension.
How much it costs to buy a year of contributions depends on which year you're buying. You can buy back as far as six years.
- £824.20 a year (£15.85 a week) to buy 2022/23
- £907.40 a year (£17.45 a week) to buy 2023/24
- £907.40 a year (£17.45 a week) to buy 2024/25
- £923 a year (£17.75 a week) to buy 2025/26
If you're self-employed or you're topping up a partial year, the cost will be lower.
For each year you buy you get an extra 1/35ths of a state pension – that may sound small, but just one extra year could add up to £340 a year to your state pension. That adds up to £6,800 over 20 years.
As long as you live at least three years after the official retirement age, you’ll get your money back and then some.
The government has a digital Check Your State Pension forecast service that it claims makes it easier for people to boost their National Insurance record.
How do I claim my state pension?
The state pension is not paid automatically when you reach state pension age – you need to actively claim it.
The Department for Work and Pensions will contact you in the months leading up to you reaching state pension age to explain how you can do this.
State pension age is 66 for both men and women, but is set to gradually rise to 67 between April 2026 and March 2028 and then to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
If you have not received an invitation letter, but you are within three months of reaching your state pension age, you can still make a claim, and the quickest way to do this is on the government website.
To complete your claim, you’ll need the following details:
- 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
If you don’t need the money immediately, then it may be worth deferring your state pension payments. We take a look at why it could be worth deferring your state pension in our article on “should you defer your state pension”.
Can I still get the state pension if I retire abroad?
So long as you have built up a sufficient number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions, then you can still receive the state pension even if you choose to retire abroad.
You will need to start claiming the pension within four months of hitting the state pension age, and you can do so by contacting the International Pension Centre. You can choose for the pension to be paid either every four weeks or every 13 weeks.
Your state pension will go up each year as long as you retire in a country that is within the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, Switzerland – or to a country with a social security agreement with the UK.
It means if you move to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India or South Africa, your state pension will be frozen and you won’t benefit from the triple lock.
If you're wondering how the UK state pension compares to those in other countries, check out our guide to the countries with the most generous pensions.
