The State Pension is a regular payment made by the UK government to people who have reached State Pension age. It is one part of the pension system in the United Kingdom, alongside workplace and personal pensions. Entitlement depends on a person's National Insurance contribution record rather than on their income or savings, and the amount paid depends mainly on when they reached State Pension age and how many qualifying years they have.

Which rules apply depends on when a person reached State Pension age. People who reached it on or after 6 April 2016 receive the new State Pension, a single flat-rate amount introduced by the Pensions Act 2014. For 2026–27 the full rate is £241.30 a week. At least ten qualifying years are normally needed to receive anything and 35 to receive the full rate. People who reached State Pension age before that date remain on the pre-2016 scheme, which closed to new pensioners in April 2016 and consists of a flat-rate basic State Pension (£184.90 a week for 2026–27) and an earnings-related additional State Pension. Transitional rules for contributions made before 2016, and past periods of contracting out, mean that many people on the new scheme receive more or less than the full rate.

Payments are normally increased each April. Under the "triple lock", the basic and new State Pension rise by the highest of average earnings growth, price inflation or 2.5 per cent. Increases are paid to pensioners living in the UK and in countries with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement; pensions paid to people living elsewhere, including Australia and Canada, are frozen at the rate first paid.

State Pension age was historically 60 for women and 65 for men. It was equalised at 66 in 2020, began rising to 67 in May 2026 and will reach 67 by 2028. A rise to 68 is legislated for 2044 to 2046, subject to periodic review.

The State Pension is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain and by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.

History

Origins The first state pension in the UK was a means-tested, non-contributory pension for people aged 70 and over introduced by the Old-Age Pensions Act 1908. Contributory pensions from age 65 followed in 1925, and the National Insurance Act 1946 created a universal contributory retirement pension from 1948 as part of the post-war welfare state.

Before the National Insurance system changed in 1975, the contribution rules were different. To receive a pension, a person needed at least 3 years (156 weeks) of flat-rate contributions (2 years before July 1948), and a yearly average of 50 weekly contributions from age 16, from 5 July 1948, or from the date they began insurable employment.

Earnings-related additions (1961–2016) An earnings-related element was added on top of the basic pension through a series of schemes: the Graduated Retirement Benefit from 1961 to 1975, the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) from 1978, and the State Second Pension from 2002 until 2016. Employers and scheme members could "contract out" of these schemes, paying a lower rate of National Insurance in exchange for building up equivalent benefits in a workplace or personal pension.

Between 1978 and 2010, Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) reduced the number of qualifying years needed by people who spent time out of paid work caring for children or disabled adults. It was replaced by National Insurance credits for parents and carers.

Pensions Act 2007

Following the findings of the Pensions Commission and the 2006 white paper Security in retirement: towards a new pension system, the Pensions Act 2007 made the following changes: Reduced the qualifying years for a full basic State Pension from 44 years for men and 39 years for women to 30 years for both, from April 2010. Linked the yearly increase in the basic State Pension to earnings rather than prices. Made it easier for everyone to build up some entitlement to the basic State Pension. Replaced Home Responsibilities Protection with weekly credits for parents and carers. Legislated to raise State Pension age for both women and men from 65 to 68 in three stages between 2024 and 2046. Ended contracting out of the additional State Pension through money-purchase schemes.

The earnings link was replaced by the "triple lock" from April 2011 (see Annual increases).

Pensions Act 2014 and the new State Pension A green paper in April 2011 and a white paper in January 2013 proposed replacing the basic and additional State Pension with a single flat-rate pension. It was originally planned for April 2017, but the 2013 Budget brought it forward to 6 April 2016. The Pensions Act 2014 received royal assent on 14 May 2014.

The new pension was initially described as a "single-tier" pension worth about £144 a week in 2012–13 terms. Rights already built up under the old scheme were preserved through the "starting amount" rules described below, and contracting out was abolished. Most rules allowing people to claim a pension on a spouse's or civil partner's record were phased out for people reaching State Pension age after the change, although existing rights were protected. The new State Pension began on 6 April 2016 at £155.65 a week.

Qualifying for a State Pension The State Pension is a "contribution-based" benefit. Entitlement depends on the number of qualifying years on a person's National Insurance record.

Qualifying years A tax year counts as a qualifying year if a person pays, is treated as having paid, or is credited with enough contributions. For 2026–27, an employee needs earnings of at least £6,708 a year (the lower earnings limit), and a self-employed person needs profits of at least £7,105 (the small profits threshold). Employees earning between the lower earnings limit and the primary threshold pay no contributions but are treated as having paid them. Since April 2024, self-employed people with profits at or above the small profits threshold receive a qualifying year without paying Class 2 contributions, and those below it can pay Class 2 contributions voluntarily.

The number of qualifying years needed depends on when a person reached State Pension age: Reached State Pension age Years for full pension Minimum years for any pension Before 6 April 2010 44 (men), 39 (women) A quarter of the full requirement 6 April 2010 to 5 April 2016 30 1 On or after 6 April 2016 35 10

National Insurance credits People in certain circumstances receive National Insurance credits instead of paying contributions. These include parents claiming Child Benefit for a child under 12, carers looking after a severely disabled person for at least 20 hours a week, and people claiming or eligible for unemployment or sickness benefits.

Filling gaps with voluntary contributions People with gaps in their record can usually fill them by paying voluntary Class 3 contributions, at £18.40 a week for 2026–27, normally for the previous six tax years. A temporary extension allowed gaps from April 2006 onwards to be filled until 5 April 2025.

People living abroad could previously pay the much cheaper voluntary Class 2 contributions. From 6 April 2026 this route was closed for periods abroad, except for some self-employed people covered by social security agreements and volunteer development workers. New applicants paying Class 3 for periods abroad must now have lived in the UK for at least 10 continuous years or have at least 10 qualifying years, replacing the previous three-year requirement.

New State Pension (reached State Pension age from 6 April 2016) The new State Pension applies to men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953.

Amount The full rate for 2026–27 is £241.30 a week (about £12,548 a year). People with between 10 and 35 qualifying years, and no National Insurance record before April 2016, receive a proportion of the full rate. Years beyond 35 do not increase the amount.

Starting amount and protected payment Most people now reaching State Pension age have National Insurance records from before April 2016. For them, the Department for Work and Pensions calculated a "starting amount" at April 2016 under both the old rules and the new rules and used whichever was higher, after a deduction for any periods of contracting out. If the starting amount was below the full rate, each qualifying year after April 2016 adds about 1/35 of the full rate, until the full rate is reached or the person reaches State Pension age. If the starting amount was above the full rate, the excess is paid as a "protected payment" on top of the full rate. Protected payments are increased each year by price inflation rather than by the triple lock.

People who were contracted out often have a starting amount below the full rate, but should have offsetting rights in a workplace or personal pension reflecting the National Insurance rebate paid in the past.

Spouses and civil partners The new State Pension is based on each person's own record and has no general equivalent of the old Category B pension. Limited transitional rules apply, such as for some married women who paid reduced-rate contributions, and a surviving spouse or civil partner may be able to inherit part of a partner's protected payment or additional pension where the marriage or civil partnership began before 6 April 2016.

Old State Pension (reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016) The pre-2016 scheme applies to men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953. It is closed to new pensioners but continues to be paid to those already on it.

Basic State Pension The full basic State Pension for 2026–27 is £184.90 a week. The amount is calculated by multiplying the full rate by the person's number of qualifying years and dividing by the number needed for the full rate (see Qualifying years).

Additional State Pension Additional State Pension is paid on top of the basic pension and reflects earnings on which National Insurance was paid. It may include: Graduated Retirement Benefit, for contributions paid between April 1961 and April 1975. SERPS, for employees who were not contracted out between April 1978 and April 2002. State Second Pension, from April 2002 to April 2016. State Pension top up, a short-lived scheme that let people reaching State Pension age before April 2016 buy extra additional pension with a lump sum between October 2015 and April 2017.

Additional State Pension is increased each year by price inflation rather than by the triple lock.

Pensions based on a spouse's record A person whose own basic State Pension is less than 60 per cent of the full rate can have it topped up to that level using their spouse's or civil partner's record, once both have reached State Pension age. This is known as a Category B pension. It was originally available only to wives; men born after 5 April 1945, and civil partners reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010, can also claim it. Widows, widowers and surviving civil partners may be able to inherit some or all of their late partner's pension.

Over-80 pension and age addition People aged 80 or over with little or no contributory pension may qualify for a non-contributory Category D pension, paid at 60 per cent of the full basic State Pension, subject to residence conditions. An "age addition" of 25p a week is paid to all State Pension recipients aged 80 or over, at the same level since 1971.

State Pension age From the 1940s until April 2010 the State Pension age was 60 for women and 65 for men. Legislation since the mid-1990s has equalised the age for men and women and set a timetable for future increases, partly to reflect rising life expectancy and concerns about long-term affordability.

Legislative changes