The full New State Pension payment of £241.30 a week is not automatically awarded to older people when they retire. To receive the maximum amount, you need around 35 years’ worth of National Insurance (NI) contributions.
Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the State Pension currently provides a regular financial income for over 13 million older people across the country, including more than one million retirees living in Scotland.
State Pension age rising to 67
The State Pension age has started rising from 66 to 67, with the increase due to be completed for all men and women across the UK by 2028. It is also set to increase from 67 to 68 in the mid-2040s.
This contributory benefit is available for those who have paid at least 10 years’ worth of NI contributions, but to receive the full New State Pension payment of £241.30 each week, you will need around 35 years’ worth of NI contributions. This is just an average number of years as some people may have been ‘contracted out’ and will need more NI contributions to qualify for the full amount.
How to get any State Pension payment
You will need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to qualify for any State Pension, but they don’t have to be 10 qualifying years in a row. This means for 10 years at least one or more of the following applied to you:
- you were working and paid National Insurance contributions
- you were getting National Insurance credits for example if you were unemployed, ill, a parent or a carer
- you were paying voluntary National Insurance contributions
If you have lived or worked abroad you might still be able to get some New State Pension. You might also qualify if you have paid married women’s or widow’s reduced rate contributions.
Qualifying years when working or not working
When you are working you pay National Insurance and get a qualifying year if you’re employed and earning over £242 a week from one employer, or you’re self-employed and paying NI contributions. You might not pay National Insurance contributions because you’re earning less than £242 a week. You may still get a qualifying year if you earn between £123 and £242 a week from one employer.
You may get National Insurance credits if you cannot work - for example because of illness or disability, or if you’re a carer or you’re unemployed. You can get National Insurance credits if you claim Child Benefit for a child under 12 (or under 16 before 2010), get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, or receive Carer’s Allowance.
If you are not working or getting National Insurance credits, you might be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you’re not in one of these groups but want to increase your State Pension amount.
Gaps in your National Insurance record
You can have gaps in your NI record and still get the full New State Pension. You can get a State Pension statement which will tell you how much State Pension you may get. You can then apply for a National Insurance statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check if your record has gaps.
If you have gaps in your National Insurance record that would prevent you from getting the full New State Pension, you may be able to get National Insurance credits or make voluntary National Insurance contributions. You can check your State Pension age to find out when you can retire and claim State pension using the free online tool at GOV.UK.
