How much you get
The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, or about £12,548 a year. It’s for people who reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. From 6 April 2027 it rises to £250.70 a week, or £13,036.40 a year.
It rises every April under the triple lock, by whichever is highest: growth in earnings, inflation, or 2.5%. The Autumn Budget 2026 kept the triple lock until April 2029 and changed it from April 2030: from then it rises by the highest of 2.5%, inflation, or the rise needed to keep its value relative to earnings at the April 2029 level. See what the Budget means for you.
How your National Insurance record builds it
Each tax year you pay National Insurance, or get NI credits, counts as a qualifying year.
| Qualifying years | What you get |
|---|---|
| 35 or more | The full amount |
| 10 to 34 | A share: 1/35 of the full amount for each year |
| Fewer than 10 | Nothing |
Nothing with fewer than 10 years. From 10 years (£68.94 a week), each qualifying year adds about £6.89, 1/35 of the full amount, up to 35. If you paid National Insurance before April 2016, your amount is worked out from your record at that date, so it can differ.
You can get NI credits without working, for example when you claim Child Benefit for a child under 12, care for someone, or get Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance. That’s one reason to claim Child Benefit even if you earn over £60,000: see the Child Benefit tax charge.
When you can claim
State Pension age is 66, rising to 67 between 6 May 2026 and 6 April 2028. People born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 reach it somewhere between 66 and 67; anyone born after that reaches it at 67. Under current law it then rises to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
It isn’t paid automatically: you’ll get a letter about two months before, telling you how to claim.
Check your forecast and fill gaps
Use Check your State Pension forecast on GOV.UK to see how much you’re on track for and your National Insurance record. If you have gaps:
- Keep working and paying NI: each extra year adds about £6.89 a week, if you have fewer than 35 years.
- Pay voluntary National Insurance for missing years, usually for the past six years. Check your forecast first: paying only helps if it increases your State Pension.
Tax and putting it off
The State Pension is taxable income, but it’s paid without tax taken off. In 2026/27 the full amount sits just under the £12,570 Personal Allowance, so any other income, such as a workplace pension, is taxed.
From April 2027 the full amount is £466.40 over the Personal Allowance, which would mean £93.28 of tax. The new Pension Tax Allowance cancels it: people over State Pension age with a total income up to the full new State Pension pay no income tax. It tapers away by £1 for every £3 of income above that, and is gone at £13,319. HMRC applies it automatically, from 2027/28 to 2029/30.
You can defer claiming it. For every 9 weeks you put it off, it goes up by 1%: about 5.8% a year.
It’s a foundation, not the whole plan
£12,548 a year is a base, not a comfortable retirement for most people. If your income in retirement is low, check whether you can get Pension Credit, which also opens the door to help with rent, Council Tax and heating. Your workplace pension and other savings make up the rest. The pension calculator shows both together.