What the UK state pension pays you each week

The UK state pension is a weekly payment from the government once you reach state pension age. The amount you receive depends on your National Insurance record — specifically, how many years you paid National Insurance contributions or received credits. The payment is not based on how much money you have or what you earn; it is based on your contribution history alone.

As of April 2024, the full new state pension (for people who reached state pension age after 6 April 2016) is £221.20 per week. The basic state pension (for people who reached state pension age before that date) is £169.45 per week. These figures change each April. If you have fewer than the required years of contributions, you receive a reduced amount proportional to the years you do have.

You do not receive a lump sum. The payment arrives weekly or fortnightly into your bank account, depending on how you choose to receive it. You can defer taking your pension to receive a higher weekly amount later, but most people start drawing it at state pension age.

Key Takeaways

  • The full new state pension is £221.20 per week as of April 2024, but the amount you receive depends on your National Insurance contribution record.
  • You need 35 years of contributions or credits to receive the full amount; fewer years means a reduced payment.
  • State pension age is currently 66 for both men and women, and it will rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
  • The payment arrives weekly or fortnightly into your bank account, and the amount increases each April in line with inflation.
  • You can check your state pension forecast online through your personal tax account before you reach state pension age.

How your National Insurance record affects the amount

Your state pension is calculated from your National Insurance contributions or credits from age 16 onwards. For the new state pension (introduced in April 2016), you need a minimum of 10 years of contributions or credits to receive any payment at all. You need 35 years to receive the full amount.

A contribution year counts if you paid National Insurance as an employee, self-employed person, or through voluntary contributions. A credit year counts if you were unemployed, ill, caring for children or a dependent adult, or in certain other circumstances. Gaps in your record — years when you neither contributed nor received credits — reduce your pension.

If you have 30 years of contributions but only 5 years of credits, you have 35 may have access to years total and receive the full pension. If you have 25 may have access to years, you receive roughly 71% of the full amount. The calculation is straightforward: your pension is the full amount multiplied by the number of may have access to years you have, divided by 35.

State pension age and when payments start

State pension age is currently 66 for both men and women. It will increase to 67 between 6 April 2026 and 5 April 2028, depending on your date of birth. The government has announced plans to raise it further to 68, but no date has been set.

You do not need to do anything to start receiving your pension once you reach state pension age — the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) contacts you automatically about four months before your birthday. They will ask how you want to receive the payment and confirm your bank details. If you want to defer your pension and receive a higher amount later, you must tell them before you reach state pension age.

If you continue working after state pension age, your pension still starts at the same rate. You can earn as much as you want without your state pension being reduced.

How the state pension increases each year

Your state pension payment increases each April. The increase is set by the triple lock, which means your pension rises by whichever is highest: inflation (measured by the Consumer Price Index), average earnings growth, or 2.5%. This means your purchasing power is protected against rising costs, though the actual percentage increase varies year to year.

The April 2024 increase was 8.5%, reflecting inflation from the previous year. The April 2023 increase was 10.1%. These are exceptional increases; in years of lower inflation, the rise is smaller. The triple lock has been in place since 2010, though it was temporarily suspended in 2022 and 2023.

You do not need to do anything to receive the increase — it is applied automatically to your account. If you receive your pension fortnightly, the increase may appear in the first payment after 8 April each year.

Checking your state pension forecast before you reach state pension age

You can view an estimate of your state pension online through your personal tax account on the GOV.UK website. This forecast shows the amount you are on track to receive based on your current National Insurance record and assuming you continue to contribute until state pension age.

The forecast is updated each time you pay National Insurance, so it becomes more accurate as you get closer to state pension age. You can also see which years are missing from your record and how many more years you need to reach the full pension. If you have gaps, you may be able to fill them by paying voluntary contributions, though this is only worth doing if the cost is less than the extra pension you would receive.

You can request a state pension statement by post if you do not have a personal tax account. The DWP will send you a detailed breakdown of your contribution record and your forecast. This takes about four weeks to arrive.

Additional payments you may receive alongside state pension

Some people receive extra payments on top of their state pension. If you were widowed, you may receive a bereavement payment or bereavement allowance depending on your age and your late spouse's National Insurance record. If you have a disability, you may receive Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, which are separate from state pension and do not affect the amount you receive.

If you have a very low income in retirement, you may also be may have access to to Pension Credit, which tops up your income to a may provide minimum level. Pension Credit is means-tested (based on your savings and income), whereas state pension is not. Some people receive both.

These payments are administered by different parts of the DWP and have separate application processes. Your state pension forecast does not include them, so you need to check separately whether you might be may have access to.

What happens if you have worked abroad or lived outside the UK

If you have lived or worked outside the UK, your state pension may be affected depending on which country you lived in and whether you paid National Insurance contributions there. Years spent in countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) or countries with social security agreements with the UK may count towards your pension, even if you did not pay UK National Insurance during those years.

If you have moved abroad permanently, you can still receive your UK state pension, but the amount may not increase each year depending on which country you live in. Countries outside the EEA and those without agreements with the UK do not receive the annual triple lock increase — your pension stays at the rate it was when you left the UK.

You should contact the International Pension Centre (part of the DWP) if you have worked or lived abroad, as they can check whether those years count towards your pension and explain how your payment will be affected if you move abroad in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get my state pension early?

No, you cannot receive state pension before you reach state pension age. However, you can defer taking it after you reach state pension age, which increases the amount you receive later. For every year you delay, your pension increases by roughly 5.8% per year.

What if I have never worked or paid National Insurance?

You may still receive a state pension if you have received National Insurance credits during years when you were unemployed, ill, or caring for children or a dependent adult. If you have fewer than 10 may have access to years (contributions or credits combined), you receive no state pension. You may be may have access to to Pension Credit instead, which is means-tested.

Does my state pension stop if I go back to work?

No, your state pension continues regardless of how much you earn or whether you work. There is no earnings limit or means test on state pension. You can work full-time and receive your full pension at the same time.

What if I think my National Insurance record is wrong?

You can check your record through your personal tax account or request a state pension statement by post. If you find gaps or errors, contact HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) to correct them. You can usually backdate corrections for up to six years, though some gaps may be too old to fix.

How much will the state pension be in the future?

The amount increases each April in line with the triple lock (inflation, earnings, or 2.5%, whichever is highest). You can see the current rate and historical increases on the GOV.UK website, but future amounts depend on inflation and earnings growth, which cannot be predicted accurately.