The amount of New State Pension that you receive depends on your national insurance contributions and national insurance credits.
A State Pension statement can tell you how much New State Pension you will receive. You can request a statement online on the Check your State Pension pag of the government website or you can contact the Pension Service by telephone or post.
The maximum New State Pension is £168.60 per week.
You are entitled to the maximum amount of New State Pension if you paid enough national insurance contributions or received national insurance credits for a total of 35 years.
For each year that is missing from your national insurance record your entitlement is reduced by one thirty-fifth.
If you have not yet reached state pension age, you may be able to pay voluntary national insurance contributions to fill the gaps in your national insurance record and increase your entitlement. You can read more about making voluntary contributions on the government website on their Voluntary National Insurance page.
Additional amounts
The New State Pension does not usually include any additional amounts.
If you paid national insurance contributions before 6 April 2016 and you would have been better off claiming the old Basic State Pension, you could receive an additional amount so that you are not any worse off claiming the New State Pension.
If you receive New State Pension, you also qualify for a Christmas Bonus which is £10 each year. The Christmas Bonus does not affect any other benefits which you may be receiving.
If you do not claim your New State Pension as soon as you reach state pension age, and you choose to defer, your entitlement could be increased. Read the Delay (defer) your State Pension page on the government website to find out how much your entitlement would go up.
Triple Lock
The New 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%
Forecast
A State Pension statement can tell you how much New State Pension you will receive. You can request a statement online on the government website on their Check your State Pension page or you can contact the Pension Service by telephone or post.
New State Pension and Other Benefits
New State Pension counts as income when working out your entitlement to other benefits.
Updated: April 2019