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When it comes to the state pension, we’ve come a long way since the introduction of the ‘old age pension’ in 1909 – a means-tested five shillings per week payment, with a qualifying age of 70.
Since then, there have been many changes, culminating in the current system where everyone reaching state pension age after 6 April 2016 gets the new flat-rate pension and anyone who reached it before that date stays on the old basic state pension (plus top-ups).
Key things to be aware of are the recent increase to state pension payments and upcoming changes to the state pension age, which may affect when you can claim.
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You need at least 10 years of national insurance (NI) credits on your record to be eligible for any amount of new state pension. You’ll get the full amount if you’ve got 35 qualifying NI years.
If you’ve got between 10 and 35 years of credits built up, you’ll get a portion of the full amount. It’s easy to check how many NI years you have at the government website (you’ll need a Government Gateway user ID and password to do so – you can sign up for one at the HMRC section of gov.uk).
You can only start claiming the money when you reach your state pension age, which is currently 66. Between May 2026 and March 2028 it moves to 67, and between 2044 and 2046 the state pension age will rise to 68.
It sounds complicated, but you can check when you’ll qualify at Check your State Pension age.
You don’t have to claim your pension simply because you’ve reached your state pension age. If you have enough other income to support your lifestyle for now, then you might decide to delay or defer your state pension.
In which case, do nothing – your pension will be automatically deferred until you claim it and you may get extra.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “If you are on the new state pension, then for every nine weeks you defer, you get an extra 1% state pension. If you do it for a year, it works out at about an extra 5.8%.”
This designed to give you roughly the same amount over the course of your retirement, whether you defer or not. But it ultimately depends on how long you live for. Generally speaking you need to live for about 17 more years for deferring to be worth it, but if you live longer, it’s likely to be more than worth it.
Depending on your tax situation, it could be worth it even if you don’t live that long. If you’re still in work when receiving the state pension, you might find that deferring can help you pay less tax when you do retire. However, this will depend on the amount of income you’re receiving.
If you’re at all worried or confused about this, it can be worth a quick check with a qualified financial planner just to explain how deferring may affect your finances.
How much you'll receive depends on your age and national insurance record. Thanks to the triple lock, pensions rose in April 2025 by 4.1%, in line with average earnings, to £11,973 a year or £230.25 a week.
The triple lock is the UK Government’s pledge to increase state pensions by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, CPI inflation, or 2.5%.
The full new state pension is now £230.25 per week or £11,973 a year for 2025-2026. The old basic state pension – for anyone who reached pension age before 6 April 2016 – is now £176.45 a week or £9,175 a year (but you may also get additional state pension through pension credit depending on earnings and benefits).
Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, says that with the state pension age due to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and a further rise to 68 planned, there will likely be further debate about how sustainable and fair the triple lock is in the longer term.
At any point before you retire, you can check how much you are currently on track to receive at the government’s state pension forecast page (again, you'll need a Government Gateway ID to access this).
You may have gaps in your NI record, which will affect how much state pension you’ll get.
You're likely to have gaps if you:
It’s well worth checking if you can fill some of those gaps. You could significantly boost your state pension with:
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If you are struggling on a low income, you may be able to top it up with pension credit. It tops up income to a guaranteed level for those on the state pension.
If you’re not receiving the full amount of state pension per week, then pension credit might help. It's one of the most underclaimed benefits, as many people don’t realise they qualify and can find it hard to claim.
Pension credit can also unlock other benefits such as a free TV licence or help with the cost of NHS dental treatment.
Just 65% of eligible older people received pension credit in 2023, according to government figures – meaning almost 800,000 people missed out. More people have since applied, although not all of those were successful in their claims.
Pension credit is for people with an income of less than £227.10 a week if you’re single, or £346.60 if you’re in a couple. It will boost your income to at least that amount.
Many people don’t realise that the level at which you qualify for pension credit you can receive rises if you get other benefits like carer’s allowance or attendance allowance.
Alicia Harries, information and advice development manager at charity Independent Age, says: “Often people aren’t aware of these additions, so they often naturally exclude themselves from pension credit, believing their income is above the basic level.
“They also worry about the process of claiming being stressful or complicated, or it’s quite common for them to think ‘There is someone worse off than me and if I claim others may lose out’. That’s not the case.”
Pension credit can be backdated by up to three months (which means a potential lump sum and any qualifying backdated payments).
It can also open the door to other benefits such as housing benefit, cost of living payments, council tax reduction, cold weather payments, warm home discounts, free NHS dental treatment and vouchers towards the cost of eyecare.
Sadly, your state pension won’t land magically in your bank account on your qualifying birthday, so you’ll need to claim it.
Look out for an invitation in the post from the Pension Service around two months before you reach state pension age. If it hasn’t arrived, call them on 0800 731 7898. Or you can request one through the Pension Service site up to three months before reaching pension age.
The easiest way to claim your state pension is online, using the invitation code you’ll be sent. But you can also ask the Pension Service for a paper claims form to be posted to you if you’d prefer not to do things digitally.
To apply you’ll need your bank or building society details, the date of your most recent marriage, civil partnership or divorce (if these apply to you), and the dates of any time spent living or working abroad.
Contact the International Pension Centre if you live abroad or NI Direct if you're claiming a state pension in Northern Ireland.
The state pension is usually paid into your account every four weeks in arrears. Your payment day depends on the last two digits of your national insurance number:
*If your normal payment day is a bank holiday, you might be paid earlier.
Whether you’re still earning or fully retired, if your income for the year exceeds the personal allowance – currently £12,570 – you’ll need to pay tax. Your state pension is taxable, just like any other income.
As the current state pension is £11,973 a year, if this is your only source of income you currently won’t usually have to pay income tax, but this is quite likely to change by 2027-28 as the state pension increases.
If you’re topping up the state pension with a personal retirement pot, investments (outside of an ISA) or another source of money coming in, then you may need to pay tax.
