What is the state pension?

Find out what the state pension is, how you qualify and hear real people's experiences of claiming the state pension
Paul Davies

What is the state pension?

The state pension is a weekly payment from the government that you receive when you reach state pension age.

The amount you get depends on several factors, including your record of National Insurance contributions.

Who's eligible for state pension?

In order to qualify for the state pension, you need make National Insurance contributions.

You need a minimum of 10 years' worth of contributions to get anything at all. In order to get a full state pension you need to 35 years' worth of contributions.

You may not have enough qualifying years because of gaps in your record. These can be caused by unemployment, being ill and not working, taking time off work for childcare or living abroad.

If you don't have enough qualifying years, you can pay voluntary contributions to fill these gaps.

Be more money savvy

free newsletter

Get a firmer grip on your finances with the expert tips in our Money newsletter – it's free weekly.

This newsletter delivers free money-related content, along with other information about Which? Group products and services. Unsubscribe whenever you want. Your data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy policy

When can I claim state pension?

The age at which you can start claiming the state pension is currently 66 for men and women.

It will rise to 67 by 2028, and should increase to 68 between 2044 and 2046, but this will be looked at again.

In March 2023, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said that the current planned rise from 67 to 68 by 2046 ‘remains appropriate’, however the Government left the door open for a further review.

The state pension age timetable stays unchanged for now, with the next review probably in 2026. Separate independent reviews in 2017 and 2023 have recommended the age rising to 68 in 2037-39 and 2041-43 respectively. 

The 'ten year warning' rule means that in theory the increase to 68 in 2037-39 could still happen if confirmed in 2026.

Use our state pension age calculator to see when you qualify for it.

How much basic state pension do I get?

The amount you receive depends on your circumstances and when you qualified for the state pension.

The basic state pension is £156.20 a week in 2023-24. This applies to people who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016.

However, many people get more than the basic state pension, because they have also built up some additional state pension, which is based upon your earnings during your career.

You may have been opted out of the additional state pension - called 'contracting out'. This meant you gave up the option of building up additional state pension in return for a bigger private pension. 

If you were contracted out for a long period, you might get less than the headline state pension amounts.

How much new state pension do I get?

In April 2016, the basic and additional state pensions were replaced by a single-tier new state pension. The full level of this new state pension is £203.85 a week in 2023-24.

Again,  you might get more or less than this depending on whether you built up additional state pension or were contracted out before 2016.

To get any state pension under the 'new' system, you'll need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record. 

These are years when you've been either paying National Insurance or receiving National Insurance credits.

What is pension credit?

Pension credit is a weekly benefit that gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you're over state pension age and on a low income. It's split into savings credit and guarantee credit.

Savings credit is worth £15.94 a week per person, and guarantee credit tops up your state pension to £201.05 a week.

If you qualify for the state pension after 6 April 2016 you won't be eligible for the savings credit element of the pension credit.

Child benefit and state pension

If you decide to take time off work to raise a young family, you can claim child benefit up until your youngest child's 12th birthday.

During this time, you will get National Insurance credits that count towards your state pension entitlement. If you're working and claiming child benefit, you could end up building up more NICs than you need.

You can transfer these to your partner.