State Pension (United Kingdom)

The State Pension is an existing benefit that forms part of the United Kingdom Government's pension arrangements. Benefits vary depending on the age of the individual and their contribution record. Currently anyone can make a claim, provided they have a minimum number of qualifying years of contributions.

People who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 receive the pre-2016 or "old" State Pension, which consists of a basic flat-rate amount and an additional earnings-related pension that reflects a person's earnings history. People who reach state pension age on or after that date receive the New State Pension, a single-tier amount intended to be simpler than the previous system. Under the new rules most people need at least ten qualifying years on their National Insurance record to receive any State Pension and 35 qualifying years to receive the full new State Pension, although transitional rules and past periods of contracting out mean that many individuals get more or less than the headline rate.

The weekly amount of State Pension is normally increased each April for pensioners living in the UK and in certain other countries. Under the government's "triple lock" commitment, the basic and new State Pension are uprated by the highest of earnings growth, price inflation or 2.5 per cent. State pension age, which for many years was 60 for women and 65 for men, is now 66 for both and is legislated to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046, subject to periodic review.

Background

Pensioners collecting their pension in Auchtermuchty, Scotland, around the beginning of the twentieth century.

Old State Pension

The Old State Pension, consisting of the Basic State Pension (alongside the Graduated Retirement Benefit, the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme, and the State Second Pension; collectively known as Additional State Pension), is a benefit payable to men born before 6 April 1951, and to women born before 6 April 1953. The maximum amount payable for the Basic State Pension component is £176.45 a week (April 2025 – April 2026).^[1]

Additional State Pension is an earnings related element that sits on top of the basic pension. It has been delivered through several schemes, notably the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) from 1978 and the State Second Pension from 2002, together with a short-lived State Pension top up scheme.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Entitlement depends on the level of earnings on which National Insurance contributions were paid and the number of years over which contributions were made. Employers and pension scheme members could in some circumstances “contract out” of Additional State Pension, paying a lower rate of National Insurance in exchange for building up benefits in a workplace or personal pension instead.^[7][8][3][9]

Some spouses, civil partners, widows and widowers are able to receive a pension based wholly or partly on the contribution record of a husband, wife or civil partner rather than their own record, and people aged 80 or over with low or no contributory entitlement may qualify for a non-contributory Category D pension.^[10][11][12] These patterns are gradually being phased out for people who fall entirely under the new State Pension, but they continue to apply to many people whose entitlement is calculated under the pre-2016 rules.

New State Pension

The new State Pension applies to men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953 who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.^[1][3][13] It replaces the combination of basic and Additional State Pension for future retirees with a single weekly amount. The full rate of new State Pension in 2025–26 is £230.25 a week for people with a complete contribution record, although many individuals receive more or less than this depending on their past position in the old system and on any periods of contracting out.^{[14][15][16][9]}

For people who already had National Insurance contributions before April 2016, the Department for Work and Pensions calculates a “starting amount” under both the old rules and the new rules and uses whichever is higher, subject to adjustments for any contracted-out service.^[17][3][8] Where someone would have been entitled to more under the old basic plus Additional State Pension system than under the full new State Pension, the excess is paid as a “protected payment” on top of the standard amount. People whose contributions were reduced because they were contracted out may receive a lower State Pension than the full rate under the new scheme, but should have offsetting rights in a workplace or personal pension that reflect the National Insurance rebate paid in the past.^[15][7][9]

Contribution record

The State Pension is a 'contribution-based' welfare benefit, and depends on an individual's National Insurance (NI) contribution history. To qualify for a full pension (amounts given above), an individual would require:

• Basic State Pension: 30 qualifying years (years in which NI contributions were paid) for contributors claiming between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2016;^[18][19][20]
• New State Pension: 35 qualifying years (years in which NI contributions were paid) for contributors claiming from 6 April 2016.^[21]

In years where fewer than 52 weeks' NI were paid, the year is disregarded. With fewer qualifying years smaller, pro-rata, pension is paid. People who were contracted-out paid lower NI contributions will receive a lower state pension.

Pre-1975 system

Before the National Insurance system changed in 1975, the contribution rules were somewhat different. To receive the benefit, a person needed to have a minimum of 3 qualifying years (156 weeks) of flat-rate contributions (2 years, prior to July 1948), and have maintained a yearly average of 50 (weeks’) contributions from either the age of 16, or since 5 July 1948, or the date they began insurable employment).^[22]

Pension uprating

See also: Frozen state pension

The benefits paid under basic State Pension are increased in April each year to pensioners living in the UK and in certain overseas countries which have a social security agreement with the UK that includes British pension uprating,^[23] in line with the CPI. All state pensions for these pensions are protected by the "triple lock" guarantee. This was a Liberal Democrat manifesto policy that was then adopted by the 2010–2015 coalition government, meaning that the benefit rises each year by either the annual price inflation, or average earnings growth, or a guaranteed 2.5% minimum, whichever is the greatest.

Coming into effect each April, the uprating is based on the previous September's CPI inflation, along with the annual increase in weekly earnings averaged over May to July.^[24] The triple lock was replaced for one year for the 2022 increase with a double lock with the average earnings element removed. This was because the government believed there was a statistical anomaly due to Covid having depressed the 2020 earnings figures.^[25]

In November 2023, The Trussell Trust calculated that a single adult in the UK in 2023 needs to earn at least £29,500 a year to have an acceptable standard of living, up from £25,000 in 2022.^[26]

Pensioners living in other countries without a current agreement (which includes most Commonwealth countries) have their pensions frozen at the rate in effect on the date when they left the UK, or on the date when they applied for a pension, whichever is later.^[27]

State Pension age

One of the conditions of entitlement to the State Pension is that a person has reached State Pension age. From the 1940s until April 2010 the State Pension age in the United Kingdom was 60 for women and 65 for men.^[28] Legislation since the mid 1990s has equalised the State Pension age for men and women and set a timetable for future increases, in part to reflect rising life expectancy and concerns about the long term affordability of the system.^[28][29] As of October 2020 the State Pension age for both men and women is 66. Under current legislation it is due to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046.^[28][30]

Before the Pensions Act 1995, the state pension age had been 60 for women, and 65 for men. The Act changed this so that the women's pension age would be made equal with men, but that the transition should only be phased in from 2010 to 2020.^[31][28][32] In 2006, a cross party Parliamentary report again recommended equalisation of ages on the basis of equal treatment of both sexes. It also recommended a rise in the state pension age for both men and women to 68 between 2024 and 2046. The rationale for the age rise was that people would be living longer in the future.^[33] This was put into effect by the Pensions Act 2007.

The Pensions Act 2011 then accelerated these changes, bringing forward the date by which women’s State Pension age reached 65 to November 2018 and raising the State Pension age for both men and women to 66 by October 2020.^[28] The Pensions Act 2014 brought forward the increase in State Pension age to 67 so that it will now occur between 2026 and 2028.^[28][30]

The government introduced a system of periodic reviews of State Pension age. The first review, reported in 2017, was informed by an independent report by John Cridland and analysis by the Government Actuary’s Department. It recommended bringing forward the rise in State Pension age from 67 to 68 to between 2037 and 2039, with an aim that people should spend up to one third of their adult life receiving the State Pension.^[28] The government said it accepted the principle of a rise to 68 on this timetable, but would legislate only after a further review.^[28] A second review, concluded in March 2023, considered new projections for life expectancy and an independent report led by Baroness Neville-Rolfe. It endorsed the existing timetable for the increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028 but did not bring forward the planned rise to 68. Instead, the government confirmed that the current legislation, which provides for the State Pension age to rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046, would remain in place pending a further review in the next Parliament.^[28][30]

Controversies and legal challenges

See also: Women Against State Pension Inequality

The increases in women’s State Pension age, and the way they were communicated, have been the subject of sustained political and legal debate. Campaign groups, including Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) and BackTo60, argue that some women born in the 1950s experienced a significant and unexpected increase in their State Pension age, which disrupted their retirement plans and caused financial hardship.^[32] Supporters of the policy point to the need to equalise State Pension ages for men and women and to respond to longer life expectancy and population ageing.^[28][29]

In May 2019, a challenge in the High Court failed to reverse decisions to accelerate the equalisation of the pension ages on the ground that not enough notice was given.^[34] The Conservative Party in its 2019 manifesto stated that it would not change the rules, while the Labour Party committed itself to compensating women who were unfairly affected by the changes in the pension age.^[35] An appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court was dismissed on 15 September 2020.^[36] On 31 March 2021 the Supreme Court refused the women's application for permission to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal.^[37]

On 21 March 2024, the Parliamentary Ombudsman recommended that the affected women receive compensation in the range of £1,000 to £2,950 each.^[38] In December 2024 the government accepted the finding of maladministration and apologised for the delay in direct mailing but rejected the Ombudsman’s approach to injustice and remedy and announced that it would not introduce a compensation scheme.^[39][32]

Current state pension ages

Women born between 1950 and 1953

Dates of birth		Date of reaching SPA		Dates of birth		Date of reaching SPA
From	To			From	To
				6 Jan 1952	5 Feb 1952	6 Nov 2013
				6 Feb 1952	5 Mar 1952	6 Jan 2014
	5 April 1950	Age 60		6 Mar 1952	5 Apr 1952	6 Mar 2014
6 Apr 1950	5 May 1950	6 May 2010		6 Apr 1952	5 May 1952	6 May 2014
6 May 1950	5 Jun 1950	6 Jul 2010		6 May 1952	5 Jun 1952	6 Jul 2014
6 Jun 1950	5 Jul 1950	6 Sep 2010		6 Jun 1952	5 Jul 1952	6 Sep 2014
6 Jul 1950	5 Aug 1950	6 Nov 2010		6 Jul 1952	5 Aug 1952	6 Nov 2014
6 Aug 1950	5 Sep 1950	6 Jan 2011		6 Aug 1952	5 Sep 1952	6 Jan 2015
6 Sep 1950	5 Oct 1950	6 Mar 2011		6 Sep 1952	5 Oct 1952	6 Mar 2015
6 Oct 1950	5 Nov 1950	6 May 2011		6 Oct 1952	5 Nov 1952	6 May 2015
6 Nov 1950	5 Dec 1950	6 Jul 2011		6 Nov 1952	5 Dec 1952	6 Jul 2015
6 Dec 1950	5 Jan 1951	6 Sep 2011		6 Dec 1952	5 Jan 1953	6 Sep 2015
6 Jan 1951	5 Feb 1951	6 Nov 2011		6 Jan 1953	5 Feb 1953	6 Nov 2015
6 Feb 1951	5 Mar 1951	6 Jan 2012		6 Feb 1953	5 Mar 1953	6 Jan 2016
6 Mar 1951	5 Apr 1951	6 Mar 2012		6 Mar 1953	5 Apr 1953	6 Mar 2016
6 Apr 1951	5 May 1951	6 May 2012		6 Apr 1953	5 May 1953	6 Jul 2016
6 May 1951	5 Jun 1951	6 Jul 2012		6 May 1953	5 Jun 1953	6 Nov 2016
6 Jun 1951	5 Jul 1951	6 Sep 2012		6 Jun 1953	5 Jul 1953	6 Mar 2017
6 Jul 1951	5 Aug 1951	6 Nov 2012		6 Jul 1953	5 Aug 1953	6 Jul 2017
6 Aug 1951	5 Sep 1951	6 Jan 2013		6 Aug 1953	5 Sep 1953	6 Nov 2017
6 Sep 1951	5 Oct 1951	6 Mar 2013		6 Sep 1953	5 Oct 1953	6 Mar 2018
6 Oct 1951	5 Nov 1951	6 May 2013		6 Oct 1953	5 Nov 1953	6 Jul 2018
6 Nov 1951	5 Dec 1951	6 Jul 2013		6 Nov 1953	5 Dec 1953	6 Nov 2018
6 Dec 1951	5 Jan 1952	6 Sep 2013

Men and women born between 1953 and 1960

Dates of birth		Date of reaching SPA
From	To
6 Dec 1953	5 Jan 1954	6 Mar 2019
6 Jan 1954	5 Feb 1954	6 May 2019
6 Feb 1954	5 Mar 1954	6 Jul 2019
6 Mar 1954	5 Apr 1954	6 Sep 2019
6 Apr 1954	5 May 1954	6 Nov 2019
6 May 1954	5 Jun 1954	6 Jan 2020
6 Jun 1954	5 Jul 1954	6 Mar 2020
6 Jul 1954	5 Aug 1954	6 May 2020
6 Aug 1954	5 Sep 1954	6 Jul 2020
6 Sep 1954	5 Oct 1954	6 Sep 2020
6 Oct 1954	5 Apr 1960	Age 66

Men and women born between 1960 and 1978

Dates of birth		SPA		Dates of birth		Proposed date of SPA
From	To			From	To
6 Apr 1960	5 May 1960	66 years 1 month		6 Apr 1977	5 May 1977	6 May 2044
6 May 1960	5 Jun 1960	66 years 2 months		6 May 1977	5 Jun 1977	6 Jul 2044
6 Jun 1960	5 Jul 1960	66 years 3 months		6 Jun 1977	5 Jul 1977	6 Sep 2044
6 Jul 1960	5 Aug 1960	66 years 4 months		6 Jul 1977	5 Aug 1977	6 Nov 2044
6 Aug 1960	5 Sep 1960	66 years 5 months		6 Aug 1977	5 Sep 1977	6 Jan 2045
6 Sep 1960	5 Oct 1960	66 years 6 months		6 Sep 1977	5 Oct 1977	6 Mar 2045
6 Oct 1960	5 Nov 1960	66 years 7 months		6 Oct 1977	5 Nov 1977	6 May 2045
6 Nov 1960	5 Dec 1960	66 years 8 months		6 Nov 1977	5 Dec 1977	6 Jul 2045
6 Dec 1960	5 Jan 1961	66 years 9 months		6 Dec 1977	5 Jan 1978	6 Sep 2045
6 Jan 1961	5 Feb 1961	66 years 10 months		6 Jan 1978	5 Feb 1978	6 Nov 2045
6 Feb 1961	5 Mar 1961	66 years 11 months		6 Feb 1978	5 Mar 1978	6 Jan 2046
6 Mar 1961	5 Apr 1977	67 years		6 Mar 1978	5 Apr 1978	68 years

Deferral and additions

Deferring State Pension

For individuals who reached SPA before 6 April 2016, deferred pensions are increased by 1% for every 5 weeks that the pension is not claimed, which is around a 10.4% increase for each full year deferred. The pension must be deferred for at least five weeks for increases to apply.^[40][41][3] For people in this group who deferred for at least 12 months, it is possible to convert deferred pension into a taxable lump sum, although the option to build up a new lump sum on further deferral was removed for those reaching State Pension age from April 2016.^[40][41] In either case, the deferred pension is increased by interest at 2% per year over the Bank of England base rate.

For individuals who reach SPA on or after 6 April 2016, deferred pensions are increased by 1% for every 9 weeks that the pension is not claimed, which is just under 5.8% for each full year the claim is postponed. The pension must be deferred for at least nine weeks for increases to apply.^{[41][40][11][42]} The extra amount is added to the regular State Pension payment and is treated as taxable income, which means it can affect income tax liabilities and entitlement to means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit.^[43][42][44]

The House of Commons Library has noted that around 8% of State Pensioners in Great Britain in 2019 were receiving an increment as a result of deferring, and that a substantial minority of those who had deferred under the old rules had chosen a lump sum rather than an increased weekly pension.^[40][44]

State Pension top up Scheme

Married people who spend time out of the paid workforce caring for children or disabled adults can receive protection for their State Pension record. Historically this was provided through Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which ran between 1978 and 2010 and reduced the number of qualifying years needed for a full Basic State Pension. HRP has now been replaced by National Insurance credits for parents and carers.^[45]

Pensioners with low incomes, or without enough qualifying years for a full State Pension, may be able to claim Pension Credit. This means-tested benefit tops up income to a minimum level and can also provide access to extra help with housing costs and other bills.^[46]

An "age addition" of 25p a week is paid to people aged 80 or over who receive a State Pension.^[47]

Other supplements and one-off payments

The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment, usually between £100 and £300 per household, intended to help older people with heating costs during the winter. It is generally available to people over State Pension age who meet residence and other conditions and is normally paid automatically to those who receive the State Pension.^{[48][49][50][51]} In some years, governments have announced temporary additions to the Winter Fuel Payment or other cost-of-living payments for pensioners, reflecting wider policy responses to energy prices and inflation.^[50][52][53]

Pensioners who receive the State Pension and certain other social security benefits may also qualify for a small annual Christmas Bonus. This is a tax-free payment of £10 that has been paid at the same nominal level since the 1970s and is not uprated in line with prices or earnings.^[54][44]

Calculations

The Basic State Pension is based on the National Insurance record of the individual. Each year that National Insurance is paid is called a qualifying year. For 2023–2024, for a qualifying year to count, an individual needs to earn at least £6,396 if they are an employee, or £6,725 if they are self-employed, and to have paid (or been credited with) National Insurance contributions based on these earnings.

Basic State Pension

The amount of the Basic State Pension received is calculated by multiplying the full rate by the number of qualifying years and dividing by the number of years needed for the full rate.

In a nutshell;

• Men born before 6 April 1945 needed 44 qualifying years for a full Basic State Pension, and women born before 6 April 1950 needed 39 qualifying years to receive any State Pension with an individual needing 25 per cent of the qualifying years required for a full pension.
• From 6 April 2010 until 5 April 2016, men born after 5 April 1945 and women born after 5 April 1950 needed 30 qualifying years for a full Basic State Pension, with one qualifying year required to receive any State Pension.

New State Pension

Since 6 April 2016, men and women will need 35 qualifying years to receive the full new state pension.^[a] State Pension amounts can be reduced if the pensioner was in a contracted-out works pension scheme.

Key to the new scheme;

• Individuals with less than the full record of qualifying years (<35 years), may elect to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to cover any gaps in their social security contributions.^[55]
• Individuals with more than the full record of qualifying years (>35 years) will not receive extra income at retirement age. With the age of retirement rolled forward by consecutive governments, for the majority of individuals, the number of qualifying years is likely to surpass 35 years.^[1]
• A minimum of 10 qualifying years is required to receive any State Pension at retirement age.

People in certain circumstances, such as caring for a severely disabled person for more than 20 hours a week or claiming unemployment or sickness benefits, can claim National Insurance credits.^[56]

NI contributions paid between April 1961 and April 1975 result in an entitlement to a small Graduated Retirement pension.^[b][57]

NI contributions paid between April 1978 and April 2002 result in an entitlement to an additional pension from the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme if the individual was "contracted out" of this arrangement. Since April 2002 NI contributions have earned an additional State Second Pension.

Married couples

Before April 2016, a wife or husband could claim extra basic State Pension based on the National Insurance contributions paid by his or her husband or wife (this extra is called a Category B pension).

If a woman has a Category A basic State Pension of less than 60 per cent of the full basic State Pension, then when she reaches her State Pension Age, she will have her basic State Pension topped-up to 60 per cent of her husband's Category A basic State Pension, once her husband reaches pension age.

Men, born after 5 April 1945, are able to claim a Category B pension based on their wives' contribution record. Similarly, civil partners who reach State Pension Age on or after 6 April 2010 are able to claim a Category B pension on the same basis.

No provision has been made for married partners to claim a reduced pension under the New State Pension, as it is intended people will have longer working lives and personal contribution records to claim against.

Future flat-rate state pensions

Pensions Act 2007

Main article: Pensions Act 2007

A new approach was introduced following the findings of the all-party Pension Commission in 2006 and the white paper Security in retirement: towards a new pension system^[33] published in May 2006. The key provisions were:^[58]

1. Reduction of the qualifying years for a full basic State Pension from 44 years for men and 39 years for women to 30 years for both.
2. The basic State Pension's yearly increase is was linked to earnings rather than prices.
3. The contribution conditions for basic State Pension were changed so that it is easier for everyone to build up some entitlement.
4. Replacing Home Responsibility Protection (HRP) with a new system of weekly credits for parents and carers so that they can build up some entitlement to the Additional State Pension.
5. Raising the State Pension age for both women and men from 65 to 68 in three stages between 2024 and 2046.
6. End of the option to contract out of the Additional State Pension through money-purchase private pensions.^[58]

The yearly increase was later reformed in the 2010 Budget to create a "triple lock", which linked the yearly increase to the greatest of:^[24]

1. the growth in national average earnings;
2. the growth in retail prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index;
3. 2.5 per cent.

Pensions Act 2014

The government originally proposed that in April 2017 the basic State Pension and Second State Pension should both be replaced by a single, flat-rate pension. A green paper was issued in April 2011, followed by a white paper in January 2013.^[59] Rights already earned to a Second State Pension would not be lost. In the 2013 budget it was announced that introduction of the single tier pension would be brought forward by one year to 6 April 2016.^[60]

The new "single-tier" State Pension would be worth £144 a week (in 2012-13 terms). Provided they have 35 qualifying years, individuals would actually receive £144 a week, plus a "protected amount" if they have already earned a second State pension greater than £37 a week (which is the difference between the current basic State Pension and the proposed flat-rate pension), and minus a "rebate-derived amount" if they have paid smaller National Insurance contributions because they were "contracted out" of the Second State Pension Scheme (or its predecessor, the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme).^[59]

The new, single-tier State Pension would eventually remove the need for Pension Credit. It is also proposed that various rules regarding marriage, divorce and bereavement would be phased out. This would mean that Category B pensions (see above) would be replaced by Category A pensions for everyone, although any rights to a Category B pension that existed at the implementation date would be preserved.^[59][61]

These changes are now law; they were enacted by the Pensions Act 2014, which received royal assent on 14 May 2014.^[60]

See also

• Pension Credit
• State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme
• State Second Pension
• Pension provision in the United Kingdom
• Women Against State Pension Inequality

Notes

1. This applies to people whose pension age falls after this date, not before it.
2. Entitlement was based on the amount of contributions paid, which are used to buy ‘units’. Each unit bought is valued at 17½p in 2024/25; the maximum possible benefit is £15.10