Useful Information
State Pension
If you reach State Pension Age on or after 6 April 2016, you will be subject to the new single, flat rate State Pension.
Under the new system, in order to be entitled to a full State Pension, both men and women need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. If you have built up entitlements under the old system (prior to 6 April 2016), you may be entitled to State Pension at a transitional rate.
The full State Pension for the 2024/25 tax year is £221.20 a week.
The Government's current intention is that each year, the State Pension is increased in line with the higher of:
- earnings (the average increase in UK wages)
- prices (the increase in the cost of living)
- 2.5%
Previously, the State pension was in two parts: the flat-rate Basic State Pension and the earnings-related State Second Pension, or 'S2P'. Those who reached State Pension Age before 6 April 2016 are still subject to the old 'two-tier' State Pension.
State Pension Age
As people are now living longer, the Government has proposed further increases to the State Pension Age for both men and women. In recent years, State Pension Age has gradually increased for women (from age 60), so that by November 2018 it was 65 for everyone. In October 2020 it increased to 66 for both men and women. The current law then provides for the State Pension Age to increase to:
- 67 between 2026 and 2028
- 68 between 2044 and 2046
The Government plans to bring the increase to age 68 forward to between 2037 and 2039, although this proposal has yet to become law.
For more information about the State Pension please see go to https://www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension.