Basic State Pension - How much Basic State Pension will I get?

The amount of Basic State Pension that you receive depends on your national insurance contributions.

A State Pension statement can tell you how much Basic State Pension you will receive. You can request a statement online on the government website on their Check your State Pension age or you can contact the Pension Service by telephone or post.

The maximum Basic State Pension is £169.50 per week if you are under 80 years old and £169.75 per week after you turn 80. 

You are entitled to the maximum amount of Basic State Pension if you paid enough national insurance contributions or received national insurance credits for a total of 30 years. 

For each year that is missing from your national insurance record, your entitlement is reduced by one thirtieth.

Voluntary contributions

You may be able to pay voluntary national insurance contributions to fill the gaps in your national insurance, find more information on the Voluntary National Insurance page of the government website.

Additional amounts 

If you receive Basic State Pension, you also qualify for a Christmas Bonus which is £10 each year. The Christmas Bonus does not affect any other benefits that you may be receiving.

If you did not claim your Basic State Pension as soon as you reached State Pension age, and you chose to defer your state pension , your entitlement could have increased. Read the Delay (defer) your State Pension page on the Gov.UK website to find out how much your entitlement would have gone up.

Some people may still be entitled to additional amounts from old schemes:

• State Second Pension (phased out from 6 April 2016)
• Increase for a husband, wife or civil partner (phased out from 6 April 2010)
• Increase for children (phased out from 6 April 2003)
• State Earnings Related Pension Scheme(SERPS) (phased out from 6 April 2002)
• Graduated Retirement Benefit (phased out from 6 April 1975).

Triple Lock

The Basic State Pension increases every 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, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
• 2.5%.

Basic State Pension and Other Benefits

Basic State Pension counts as income when working out your entitlement to other benefits.