State Pension Amount 2026/27 — How Much Will You Get?

The State Pension is the foundation of retirement income for millions of people in the UK. It increases each April under the triple lock guarantee, meaning it rises by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%. For 2026/27, the full new State Pension is approximately £230.25 per week — though the confirmed figure depends on the triple lock calculation based on September 2025 data.

This guide explains exactly how much you can expect, how your National Insurance record affects your entitlement, and what you can do to maximise what you receive.

Read more: See our State Pension guide for a complete overview of this topic.

State Pension Amounts — 2026/27

The full new State Pension for 2026/27 is expected to be around £230.25 per week, which works out to approximately £11,973 per year. This applies to people who reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016 and have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.

The older basic State Pension — paid to those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 — is expected to remain around £176.45 per week. People in this group may also receive an additional amount on top through schemes like SERPS or the State Second Pension (S2P), which were separate top-up pensions linked to earnings.

Note: These figures are based on the expected triple lock increase for April 2026. The government confirms the exact figure each autumn or spring.

Previous Years for Comparison

The State Pension has risen significantly over the past four years thanks to the triple lock. The biggest jump came in April 2023 when it rose by 10.1% to match runaway CPI inflation. The increases since then have been more modest but still meaningful.

Since 2020, the full new State Pension has risen by nearly 40%. For someone who retired in 2020 and receives the full amount, that translates to roughly £3,000 more income per year than when they first started claiming.

How the Triple Lock Works

The triple lock is one of the most generous pension commitments in the developed world. It guarantees the State Pension rises each April by whichever of the following three measures is highest:

• Average earnings growth — measured as the growth in average weekly earnings for the May to July period
• CPI inflation — the Consumer Prices Index for September of the previous year
• 2.5% — a minimum floor that applies even if both earnings and inflation are lower

This means the State Pension can never fall in value in cash terms, and in most years it rises faster than prices. The triple lock has been politically contentious because it tends to increase the pension more generously than other benefits and working-age incomes. There have been calls to scrap or reform it, but as of 2026 the government has maintained the commitment.

One important nuance: the “average earnings” figure used is from May to July, not the full year. This sometimes catches people out — it’s not the same as the annual earnings figure you might see in news reports.

How Much State Pension Will You Get?

Your actual State Pension amount depends almost entirely on how many qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits you have built up. A qualifying year is any tax year in which you paid — or were credited with — National Insurance contributions.

For the new State Pension, you need 35 qualifying years to receive the full amount. If you have fewer than 35 years but at least 10, you receive a proportional amount. If you have fewer than 10 qualifying years, you receive nothing at all.

Years when you were employed and earning above the Lower Earnings Limit (£6,396 in 2026/27), self-employed and paying Class 4 National Insurance, or claiming certain benefits automatically count as qualifying years. Periods of caring for a child under 12 also count, through a system of NI credits — which is why it’s important to claim Child Benefit even if you don’t need the money itself.

Similarly, if you were a carer looking after someone who claims a qualifying disability benefit, you may be entitled to Carer’s Credit, which also builds qualifying years for free. Many people are unaware of these automatic credits and later discover they could have claimed them.

New State Pension vs Basic State Pension

Knowing which system you fall under matters because the rules are different. The new State Pension applies to everyone who reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. The basic State Pension applies to those who reached State Pension age before that date.

The key difference is how additional pension entitlements are treated. Under the old system, you could build up an additional State Pension on top of the basic pension through SERPS or S2P, which were linked to earnings and employment. Under the new system, these former entitlements were folded into a single “foundation amount” when the new pension launched, and the resulting figure became your starting point.

This means some people under the new State Pension system receive more than the full flat rate — they have a “protected payment” reflecting their former SERPS or S2P entitlement — while others who contracted out of SERPS in the past receive less than the full rate and need more qualifying years to top it up.

If you reached State Pension age before April 2016, your entitlement is calculated under the old rules. You may want to check whether you might benefit from Pension Credit if your total State Pension plus any additional pension is low — Pension Credit tops up income to £227.10 per week for a single person in 2026/27.

How to Check Your State Pension Forecast

Checking your State Pension forecast is one of the most valuable financial moves you can make, particularly in your 50s and 60s. The government’s online checker at gov.uk shows your full NI record — including which years count as qualifying and which have gaps — plus an estimate of what you will receive at State Pension age.

The forecast is especially useful because it can reveal unexpected gaps caused by periods of low earnings, self-employment without Class 2 contributions, or time spent abroad. Many people discover gaps they can fill — at relatively low cost — to increase their pension significantly.

To access the forecast:

1. Go to gov.uk/check-state-pension
2. Sign in with Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login
3. View your forecast — it shows your expected weekly amount
4. Check your NI record — it shows qualifying years and any gaps
5. See if you can fill gaps to increase your pension

Your forecast will tell you your current State Pension entitlement based on NI years so far, what you could get if you continue contributing until State Pension age, and which years in your NI record have gaps that could be filled.

One important thing to note: your forecast is an estimate, not a guarantee. It is calculated on the assumption that the rules remain the same. Changes to the State Pension age or triple lock in the future would affect the amount you actually receive.

State Pension Age

State Pension age is the age at which you can start claiming. For men and women born after 5 April 1960, State Pension age is currently 66. It is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028 for those born between 6 April 1960 and 5 April 1977, and there are plans to raise it to 68 for younger cohorts — though the exact timetable for that is still under review.

It is important to understand that State Pension age is not the same as the age you can access your workplace or private pension. The minimum pension access age for private pensions is 55 currently, rising to 57 in 2028.

You can check your exact State Pension age at gov.uk/state-pension-age. If you are approaching 66, you will also receive a letter from the government approximately four months before you become eligible, explaining how to claim.

You do not receive the State Pension automatically — you must claim it. If you do nothing, you will not be paid, but your pension will automatically build up the deferral bonus (see below).

Can You Increase Your State Pension?

If your NI record has gaps, or you have not yet reached 35 qualifying years, there are several options to boost your State Pension. The single most cost-effective is usually buying voluntary NI contributions to fill gaps in your record.

Voluntary NI contributions allow you to pay Class 3 contributions to fill in missing years. The cost is £824.20 for each missing year (2025/26 rate). Each year you buy adds approximately £6.58 per week — or around £342 per year — to your State Pension. The break-even is just 2.4 years of receiving the pension, making it one of the best returns on any lump sum investment available.

NI credits are free credits that count as qualifying years. You get them automatically while receiving Child Benefit for children under 12, while on certain benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment Support Allowance, and while registered as a carer. If you think you should have been receiving credits that weren’t applied, you can often claim them retrospectively.

Deferring your State Pension means delaying when you start claiming. Every year you defer adds approximately 5.8% to your weekly State Pension permanently. This is particularly valuable if you are still working when you reach State Pension age and don’t yet need the income.

Continuing to work past State Pension age and paying NI (if you are below the State Pension age in a particular year) can push your qualifying years up to 35. Once you reach State Pension age, you no longer pay NI even if you continue working.

Is Buying NI Years Worth It?

For most people, buying missing NI years is outstanding value. Consider the numbers: you pay £824.20 to fill one missing year, which adds £342 per year to your pension for the rest of your life. In just under 2.5 years of receiving that extra income, you have more than recovered your investment — and every year after that is pure profit.

If you live to the average life expectancy of around 20 years past State Pension age, a single £824 investment could generate over £6,800 in additional pension income. Few savings or investment accounts can match that guaranteed, inflation-linked return.

There is a time limit on buying voluntary contributions, though — generally six years back, though there is a special extension for buying back years from 2006 to 2016 that has been available in recent years. Check whether any extended deadlines still apply when you look into this.

See our NI voluntary contributions guide for full details on buying extra years.

State Pension and Tax

The State Pension counts as taxable income, but it is never taxed at source — HMRC does not deduct tax before the payment reaches you. Instead, if you have other income in retirement (a workplace pension, employment income, rental income), HMRC adjusts your tax code on that other income to collect any tax owed on the State Pension.

For 2026/27, the full new State Pension is approximately £11,973 per year. The Personal Allowance — the amount you can earn before paying Income Tax — is £12,570. This means that if the State Pension is your only income, you will not pay any tax at all, as the pension alone falls below the threshold.

However, if you also receive a workplace pension, investment income, or rental income, your total may push above £12,570. In that case, you start paying basic rate Income Tax (20%) on the excess. For people with multiple income sources in retirement, it is worth checking your tax code to ensure HMRC is calculating your tax correctly.

One common issue is the “pension tax trap” — where people find their PAYE tax code on their workplace pension has been adjusted to an unusual number to recover tax owed on the State Pension. If your tax code looks odd, it is likely because HMRC is accounting for your State Pension through it.

State Pension Deferral

If you reach State Pension age and do not need the income immediately, you can choose to defer claiming. Your pension does not start being paid until you claim it, and every year you wait adds approximately 5.8% to your weekly amount — permanently, for the rest of your life.

Deferral is most attractive if you are still working and earning well when you hit State Pension age, because the State Pension income would simply be taxed heavily alongside your earnings anyway. By deferring, you avoid that tax hit and instead build up a higher pension for the years when you will actually need it.

The break-even point for deferral is roughly 17 years. That means if you defer for one year, you need to live approximately 17 years after you eventually claim to come out ahead in total income. For someone who defers at 66 and eventually claims at 67, they need to live to around 84 to break even. Whether that makes deferral worthwhile is a personal calculation that depends on your health, financial position, and other income.

One key change under the new State Pension: there is no longer a lump sum option. Under the old basic State Pension, you could opt to receive the deferred amount as a one-off lump sum rather than a higher weekly pension. That option is not available under the new State Pension — deferral always results in a higher weekly payment.

See our State Pension deferral guide for a full break-even analysis.

Useful Links

• State Pension Deferral Guide
• NI Voluntary Contributions Guide
• Pension Credit Guide
• How to Find a Lost Pension
• How Much Can I Earn Tax-Free?
• New Tax Year April 2026 Changes