The State Pension

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, which is £12,547.60 over a 52-week year. How much of it you get depends on your National Insurance record: the number of qualifying years you have built up through work, credits or voluntary contributions. It rises every April by the triple lock, which means the highest of earnings growth, price inflation (CPI) or 2.5 per cent.

How the amount is decided

The new State Pension is for people who reach State Pension age after the old basic State Pension was replaced. You need a minimum number of qualifying years on your NI record to get anything, and a larger number to get the full rate. Between the two, you get a proportion. The exact numbers of years are on the gov.uk new State Pension pages, and your own forecast tells you where you stand.

A qualifying year is a tax year in which you paid NI, were treated as having paid it, or received NI credits. For employees, a year counts if your earnings from a job reach the Lower Earnings Limit, which is £129 a week (£6,708 a year) in 2026/27. Earnings between that and the Primary Threshold of £12,570 count towards your record even though you pay no NI on them. Above £12,570 you pay 8 per cent on earnings up to £50,270 and 2 per cent above. The National Insurance guide covers the rates in more detail.

You can also get NI credits without working, for example while claiming Child Benefit for a young child, while getting certain benefits for unemployment or illness, or while caring for someone for a set number of hours a week.

Why public sector workers often have a lower starting amount

Before the new State Pension started, workers in the NHS, teachers’, local government and Civil Service schemes were contracted out of the old additional State Pension. They and their employers paid lower NI, and the workplace scheme provided the extra pension instead.

When the new system started, everyone’s record was converted to a starting amount. For people who had been contracted out, a deduction was made to reflect the lower NI they had paid. Many long-serving public sector workers therefore see a forecast below the full rate even with plenty of years on their record.

The deduction can usually be made up. Each extra qualifying year you build up after the switch adds to your State Pension until you reach the full rate. Your forecast shows whether more years will increase what you get.

Checking your forecast and filling gaps

Your State Pension forecast is on gov.uk. It shows how much you could get, when you can get it, and whether you have gaps that could be filled. You can also see your NI record year by year through your personal tax account.

If there are gaps, you may be able to pay voluntary NI to fill them. Class 3 is the usual voluntary contribution for people who are not working or who were living abroad. Self-employed people with low profits can pay Class 2, which is £3.65 a week in 2026/27. Filling a gap does not always pay off: if you will reach the full rate anyway through future work, extra years may add nothing. The gov.uk forecast flags which years would increase your pension, and the Future Pension Centre can answer questions about your record before you pay anything.

Gaps are common for people who took time out, worked part-time below the Lower Earnings Limit, or lived abroad. The personal tax account guide explains how to log in and see your record.

When you can claim

You can claim from your State Pension age. For most people now it is 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028 for those born on or after 6 April 1960. The State Pension age guide explains the timetable. Payment does not start automatically. You should get a letter a few months before, and you can claim online or by phone.

You can also put off claiming. Deferring increases the weekly amount when you do claim. DWP sets the rate of increase and publishes it on gov.uk.

How the State Pension is taxed

The State Pension counts as taxable income but is paid without tax taken off. At £12,547.60 a year, the full rate on its own is just under the £12,570 Personal Allowance, so someone with no other income pays no tax on it.

Most public sector retirees will also have a workplace pension. In that case HMRC collects the tax due on the State Pension through the tax code on the workplace pension, so the code on your NHS or teachers’ pension may be much lower than the standard 1257L. The Personal Allowance guide explains how the allowance is used up.

Working after State Pension age

You can keep working and draw your State Pension at the same time. Once you reach State Pension age, no employee National Insurance is taken from your pay, so take-home pay rises even if your salary stays the same. Income Tax still applies. The take-home pay calculator shows the effect on your monthly pay.

Your workplace scheme has its own rules about working past its normal pension age, and these differ between the NHS, teachers’, LGPS and Civil Service schemes. Check with the scheme administrator before you plan around a date.