Our guide to the State Pension in the United Kingdom

What is State Pension in the UK?

State Pension is a regular payment that anyone over 66 can claim from the government. You’re only eligible for State Pension if you’ve been contributing National Insurance for a number of years, and the amount you receive may also vary because of this.

For many people, the State Pension forms only a part of their retirement income. Somewhat confusingly, the UK has two versions of the State Pension: the Basic State Pension and the New State Pension. We’ll try to clear up the differences between the two here.

What is the Basic State Pension?

The “old” version of the state pension varies depending on when you were born and what your gender is. Men are eligible for this pension if they were born before 6 April 1951, whereas women are eligible if they were born before the same date in 1953.

The full Basic State Pension is £137.60 a week. To be eligible, you have to have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions.

What is the New State Pension?

The more recent version, which was brought in during 2016, is the New State Pension. If you are just now becoming eligible for State Pension, you will also get this pension. For men, it applies to those born on or after 6 April 1951. For women, it applies if you were born on or after 6 of April 1953.

The New State Pension amount is equal to £179.60 per week, but you’ll only receive it subject to your National Insurance record.

When will I get my UK State Pension?

You will become eligible for State Pension when you reach State Pension age. When you hit that age depends on when you were born and sometimes your gender, but not always.

For some people, it can be as low as 65. For others, it may be up to 68 – at least according to the most recent rules.

There are two very helpful ways of checking what your State Pension age might be. One is the UK government’s State Pension age calculator. Or you can check it manually on the State Pension age timetables.

Eligibility criteria for UK State Pension: Can I claim it?

In addition to reaching the State Pension age, you also have to have contributed to National Insurance for a number of years. National Insurance contributions are a tax on earnings and self-employed profits paid by employees, employers and the self-employed.

To qualify for state pension, you have to have made National Insurance (or NI) contributions for a minimum of 10 years. These 10 years are cumulative, however, so they don’t have to be in a row. This may be good news for migrants who are frequently going back and forth between the UK and their home country.

You might want to note though that 10 years will get you the minimum amount of State Pension pay-outs, whereas the maximum amount of time paid in (35 years) will qualify you for the full pension amount.

You can also apply for ‘credits’ which go towards your National Insurance contributions. These apply if you were or have ever been unemployed, a carer or ill.

How do I claim a UK State Pension?

You’ll have to apply to claim your State Pension. It won’t be sent to you automatically when you turn the right age. But don’t worry if you forget (as if you would!) – the government will likely send you a letter to let you know that your claimant age is coming up soon.

To claim, follow the directions that they send to you in the post. Or you can be proactive and apply directly on the UK government website. The process differs slightly for those who live in Northern Ireland. Find out more about that process here.

What to do if I’m not eligible for a UK State Pension?

You may have found, as you’ve gone through all of the above, that you are not actually eligible for State Pension. Don’t worry – there’s still a few other options that you can try:

Pension Credit

Pension Credit is a means-tested benefit that can supplement your income if you’ve reached State Pension age. If you have a low income, you may be able to apply for Pension Credit to support you, even if you’re not currently eligible for the normal State Pension.

If you are single, the Pension Credit will top up your income to £177.10 per month. You can learn more about Pension Credit here.

Partner Contributions

If both you and your partner have reached State Pension age, you may also be able to claim. That is only if they have made enough National Insurance contributions or received NI credits.

When using your partner’s NI credits to claim, the amount you receive will be lower than the standard State Pension payout at £82.45 per week. You can also claim this benefit as a widow or widower, if your partner was eligible for State Pension before they passed away.

Over 80 Pensions

In addition to the regular State Pension, the UK government also offers a special pension for people over 80 years old. Even if you aren’t eligible for the basic State Pension, you can still claim this one if you are of the right age. It’s worth up to £82.70 per week.

You can even claim the basic State Pension and the over 80s pension at the same time, but the amount you receive from your over 80s pension will be lower. For more information, please see the UK government website here.

Private and workplace pensions

If you aren’t eligible for a UK State Pension, you may have a supplementary pension that you can begin to draw down when you’re of retirement age. While working, you will pay into these private pensions over time or can put in lump sums as well.

You can either take out a private pension with a dedicated pension provider or with your bank. There are two types of UK private pensions – insured personal pension plans or SIPPs (self-invested personal pensions).

If you’ve worked in the UK, it’s very likely that you will have a private pension of some kind as it’s compulsory for all UK employees to be automatically enrolled. Your employer will have to pay a minimum of 3%, and you will pay 5% for a minimum of 8%. You can also opt to pay more or less, once you’ve been enrolled into the plan.

The UK State Pension for foreign nationals

You may be wondering what you’re entitled to if you are a foreign national that has lived or worked in Great Britain. Again, the rules mostly come down to how much National Insurance you have paid during your time in the UK.

Do I need to be British to claim a UK state pension?

You do not need to be British or have a British passport to claim. The same goes for your partner. You simply need to have paid into your National Insurance for at least 10 years or a maximum of 35 years to claim the full amount.

Can I claim a UK State Pension if I move out of the UK?

The good news is that even if you move abroad, you can still claim your UK State Pension. As long as you are of retirement age and have paid into your National Insurance, then you are perfectly entitled to those benefits.

However, if you move home or overseas permanently then you can still receive your State Pension but your pension credit (see above) will stop.

What do you do if you’ve lived in multiple different countries and paid into different state pensions?

If you’ve lived and worked in another country besides the UK, then you might be able to claim a pension from there as well. Some countries can even combine with your UK State Pension to enhance your benefits.

You can also combine your years working abroad in certain other countries with your years working in the UK to make up your 10 years of NI contributions. Some of these countries include countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland and Gibraltar.

Pensions can seem a little complicated at first, but in the UK at least, it all boils down to those ever-important National Insurance contributions. We know many of our customers are curious about this topic, as you may have only lived in the UK for a short time.

It’s our aim to do everything we can to clear up financial matters like this so that you can get back to spending time with those you love. For more information about living the migrant lifestyle or transferring money back home, please see our other blog posts.

*The contents of this blog post does not constitute legal or financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. If you require specific legal and / or financial advice you should contact a specialist lawyer or financial advisor. Information true at time of publishing*