State Pension 2026/27: How Much You Get and How to Claim

Which State Pension you get, and how much, depends on when you reached State Pension age:

For the new State Pension, you need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get the full £241.30 a week, and at least 10 qualifying years to get anything at all. With 11 to 34 qualifying years you get a proportion in between: each qualifying year is worth roughly £6.89 a week, so 20 years gives you around £137.80 a week, and the 10-year minimum is worth around £68.90 a week.

A qualifying year is one where you worked and paid National Insurance, got National Insurance credits (for example while unemployed, ill, or a parent or carer), or paid voluntary contributions. See our State Pension forecast guide to check your own record and what you're on track to get.

Your weekly State Pension amount usually rises each April. The increase is whichever of these three figures is highest, a system known as the triple lock:

• Inflation: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the previous September
• Average earnings growth between May and July of the previous year
• 2.5%

This is how the full new State Pension rose from £230.25 to £241.30 a week for 2026/27. The Budget on 28 October 2026 confirmed that the State Pension will continue to rise by the highest of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth each year through to April 2029, with an adjusted triple lock from April 2030 (see what the Autumn Budget 2026 announced).

Your State Pension is not paid automatically. You have to claim it, and there is no time limit for doing so.

If your forecast shows you are not on track for the full amount, you have a few options:

• Check whether you can get National Insurance credits to fill gaps in your record, for example if you were ill or unemployed, or you were a parent or carer.
• Consider paying voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions to fill gaps in your record.
• Once you reach State Pension age, if you are on a low income you may be eligible to apply for Pension Credit.
• Delay claiming your State Pension. Every 9 weeks you defer adds 1% to your weekly payment for life, which works out at just under 5.8% for a full year. You cannot build up deferred State Pension while you or your partner get certain benefits.

For example, deferring the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week for a full year (52 weeks) adds about £13.99 a week for life. You can also claim a one-off arrears payment of up to 52 weeks, worth £12,547.60 with no interest if you defer the full new State Pension for 52 weeks. If you defer for longer than 52 weeks, you get the rest as extra State Pension.

Our Pension Credit guide covers the benefit for people on a low income over State Pension age, and our State Pension age guide shows when you reach it.

Your State Pension is paid without any tax taken off, but it counts as taxable income. You stop paying National Insurance once you reach State Pension age, but you still pay Income Tax if your total income is above your Personal Allowance, £12,570 for 2026/27.

If the State Pension is your only income, the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week (about £12,548 a year) is currently below the Personal Allowance, so most people pay no Income Tax on it. If you have other income, such as a workplace pension or wages, your tax code is usually adjusted so the tax owed on your State Pension is collected from that other income instead.

From April 2027, the maximum new State Pension is expected to be higher than the standard Personal Allowance. The government has announced that if your total income is less than or the same as the full new State Pension, you will continue not to pay any Income Tax. Our Autumn Budget guide covers the new Pension Tax Allowance.

If you have already retired and are thinking of moving abroad, contact the International Pension Centre for advice on how your pension might be affected.