Basic State Pension

You can call the Future Pension Centre and ask for a State Pension statement. Your statement will tell you how much State Pension you have built up so far based on the National Insurance contributions and credits that are on your National Insurance record at the time your statement is produced.

The full new State Pension is £179.60 per week. The actual amount you get depends on your National Insurance record. The only reasons the amount can be higher are if: you defer (delay) taking your State Pension.

For 2020/2021 the old state pension pays £134.25 basic plus an average of £40 additional pension (sometimes known as “state second pension”) per week. The new state pension pays a flat rate of £175.20 plus any ‘protected payments’. To get this full amount though you’ll need 35 years of NI contributions.

Under the Pensions Act 2011, women’s State Pension age will increase more quickly to 65 between April 2016 and November 2018. From December 2018 the State Pension age for both men and women will start to increase to reach 66 by October 2020.

For 2020/2021 the old state pension pays £134.25 basic plus an average of £40 additional pension (sometimes known as “state second pension”) per week. The new state pension pays a flat rate of £175.20 plus any ‘protected payments’.

Many married women are entitled to a basic state pension at 60 per cent of the full rate because of their husband’s record of National Insurance (NI) Contributions in circumstances where their own record of NI Contributions would provide a lower pension.

Additional State Pension, also known as the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and State Second Pension, is an extra amount of money you could get on top of your basic State Pension if you’re a man born before 6 April 1951 or a woman born before 6 April 1953.

The earliest you can get the basic State Pension is when you reach State Pension age. Use the Government’s State Pension calculator to find out your State Pension age. How much State Pension will I get? The full Basic State Pension is currently £137.60 a week for people who have 30 years of National Insurance contributions.

From 2016 the State Pension has been reformed into a new single-tier state pension. In order to benefit from the full amount the individual will need 35 years, rather than the previous 30 years of NIC or credits for the full amount, with pro-rating where 35 years is not achieved.

The State Pension is a regular payment from the Government based on your previous National Insurance contributions. There are two different systems for claiming State Pension.

The old State Pension includes two parts: A Basic State Pension based on your previous National Insurance contributions; An Additional State Pension also based on your National Insurance contributions, but this takes into account your earnings and whether you claimed benefits too.