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.

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).

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.