What is the UK state pension?

The UK state pension provides regular payments from the government once you reach state pension age. The rules on how much you’ll receive from your state pension have become a little more complicated since April 2016. On this page, you’ll find out everything you need to know about the UK state pension, how it works, how you can claim and ways in which you may be able to increase your state pension.

We also consider ways you can supplement your state pension income, for instance, by paying into a personal pension or opening a high-interest savings account.

The state pension in the UK is a regular payment you can claim from the government when you reach state pension age, which is currently 66 for both men and women (but this does depend on when you were born).

The amount you’ll receive in state pension will depend on how many qualifying years of National Insurance payments you’ve made. National Insurance includes contributions you’ve made when working, as well as contributions that are credited to you when you’re unable to work.

The State Pension is a regular payment from the government that most people can claim when they reach State Pension age. However, not everyone gets the same amount - how much you get depends on your National Insurance record.

If you receive the new State Pension, the full amount you’ll receive for the 2024/25 tax year will be £221.20 a week. You can claim the new State Pension if you’re:

• A man born on or after 6 April 1951
• A woman born on or after 6 April 1953

You’ll need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to get the full new State Pension.

If you receive the basic State Pension, the full amount you’ll receive for the 2024/25 tax year will be £169.50 a week (compared to £156.20 a week for the 2023/24 tax year).

You’ll get the basic State Pension if you’re:

• A man born before 6 April 1951
• A woman born before 6 April 1953

To claim the full amount, you usually need 30 years of National Insurance contributions (if you reach state pension age after 6/4/2010, but may be different if you reached SPA before this date)

You’re eligible to claim a basic state pension in the UK if you’re a man born before the 6th April 1951, or the 6th April 1953 if you’re a woman. If you were born on or after these dates, you’re eligible to claim the new state pension, as explained above.

If you’ve qualified for the basic state pension, the amount you can receive is up to £169.50 a week in 2024/25. If you’re married or in a civil partnership and both you and your spouse have made National Insurance contributions, the amount you receive may double.

If you’ve qualified for the new state pension introduced in April 2016, you could receive up to £221.20 per week. Because of changes to how the state pension works, you can no longer build up additional state pension, and you can only claim the full state pension once you have made 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.

To receive any state pension at all, you’ll need at least 10 years of National Insurance contributions.

To find out how much state pension you may receive, you can use an online pension calculator.

Before introducing the UK’s new state pension, you were allowed to contract out of the scheme, cutting your state pension by paying less National Insurance.

If you contracted out of the scheme and have been making reduced National Insurance contributions, you may not receive the full amount of the state pension you technically qualify for.

You can claim your UK state pension once you’ve reached state pension age, which is currently 66 for men and women, as of 2024. However, you won’t automatically receive your state pension. You’ll receive a letter around four months before you retire or reach state pension age that will tell you how you can claim your state pension.

The quickest way to make a claim is to use the online service, although you can also call the State Pensions Claim line on 0800 731 7898 and request a paper form. If you’re claiming from abroad, including the Channel Islands, you should contact the International Pension Centre.

The value of your new state pension depends on the National Insurance contributions you make. If you’ve reached the state pension age without enough qualifying years to receive the full state pension, you may be able to top up your National Insurance and close the gap by paying voluntary contributions.

It’s important to maximise all the means you have of saving for retirement because the UK state pension isn’t typically enough for you to live comfortably.

If you want to increase your retirement income to have a more comfortable lifestyle, you might want to consider paying into a personal pension and/or a workplace pension. These are two of the most popular ways of saving for retirement because the government normally offers tax relief on pension contributions (up to the annual allowance). If you’re a member of a workplace pension scheme, your employer may also make contributions, helping to boost the value of your pension pot even further.

Another way to maximise your retirement income is to open a competitive interest savings account such as a fixed rate bond. Ideal if you have a lump sum to invest, fixed rate bonds offer fixed, competitive interest rates over varying terms. The length of the term can vary between six months and five years, after which point you can withdraw your money and place it into another fixed rate bond, or you could add it to your pension plan.

If you want to start saving for retirement but can’t commit to locking away your money for the long-term, you might want to consider opening a notice account. Notice accounts offer competitive variable rates (although typically not as high as fixed rate bonds) and the flexibility to withdraw your money after a set notice period, usually between 30 and 90 days.

However you choose to supplement your UK state pension, it’s important to start saving as soon as possible. To view competitive savings accounts from a range of banks, simply register for a Raisin UK Account and apply for free online today.