Your State Pension amount depends on your National Insurance record.
Check your State Pension forecast to find out how much you could get when you reach State Pension age. It also shows your National Insurance record.
The full rate of new State Pension is £221.20 a week. Your amount could be different depending on:
- if you were contracted out before 2016
- the number of National Insurance qualifying years you have
- if you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016
If you’re getting less than £221.20 a week
You might need more National Insurance qualifying years to increase your State Pension.
If your National Insurance record started before April 2016
You may have been contracted out. While you were contracted out, you or your employer paid more into your workplace or private pension and less into your State Pension.
If you were contracted out, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.
If your National Insurance record started after April 2016
If your National Insurance record started after April 2016 you will need 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension.
If you’re getting more than £221.20 a week
If you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016 and would have got more State Pension under the old rules, you’ll get a ‘protected payment’. This is paid on top of the full rate of new State Pension.
Annual increases
The new State Pension increases each year by whichever is the highest:
- earnings – the average percentage growth in wages (in Great Britain)
- prices – the percentage growth in prices in the UK measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
- 2.5%
If you have a protected payment, it increases each year in line with the CPI.
Further information
You can read ‘Your new State Pension explained’ for more detailed information about the new State Pension scheme.
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