Qualifying for basic State Pension

Eligibility

Everyone eligible for the basic State Pension has now reached State Pension age. To get it you need to have enough National Insurance qualifying years.

You also need to be either a:

• man born before 6 April 1951
• woman born before 6 April 1953

If you were born on or after these dates you must claim the new State Pension.

Your National Insurance qualifying years

A National Insurance qualifying year is one in which you did one or more of the following:

• worked and paid National Insurance
• got National Insurance Credits, for example you were unemployed, sick, or a parent or carer
• paid Voluntary National Insurance contributions

Number of qualifying years you need

The number of National Insurance qualifying years you need to get any basic State Pension depends on your circumstances.

If you’re a man you usually need:

• 1 qualifying year if you were born between 1945 and 1951
• 11 qualifying years if you were born before 1945

If you’re a woman you usually need:

• 1 qualifying year if you were born between 1950 and 1953
• 10 qualifying years if were born before 1950

You might still be eligible if you have fewer qualifying years. To check, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre or the International Pension Centre if you live abroad.

The number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions you have affects the amount of basic State Pension you’ll get.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership

You might be able to increase or inherit State Pension if you have had a spouse or civil partner

You might be able to increase your State Pension if either:

• you’re not eligible for the basic State Pension
• your basic State Pension is less than £101.55 per week

You might be able to inherit State Pension from your spouse or civil partner if either:

• you’re not eligible for the basic State Pension
• your basic State Pension is less than £169.50 per week

If you’re transgender

Your State Pension might be affected if you’re a transgender person and you:

• were born between 24 December 1919 and 3 April 1945
• have claimed State Pension before 4 April 2005
• can provide evidence that your gender reassignment surgery took place before 4 April 2005

Find out more about Gender Recognition

You do not need to do anything if you legally changed your gender and started claiming State Pension on or after 4 April 2005 - you’ll already be claiming based on your legal gender.

Equal treatment for State Pension for transgender people

If you do not qualify for a State Pension

You might be eligible for Pension Credit or other benefits and financial support.

The full basic State Pension is £169.50 per week.

You may have to pay tax on your State Pension.

If you’re a man born on or after 6 April 1951 or a woman born on or after 6 April 1953, you’ll get the new State Pension instead.

Qualifying for the full amount

To get the full basic State Pension you need a certain number of qualifying years of National Insurance.

If you’re a man you usually need:

• 30 qualifying years if you were born between 1945 and 1951
• 44 qualifying years if you were born before 1945

If you’re a woman you usually need:

• 30 qualifying years if you were born between 1950 and 1953
• 39 qualifying years if were born before 1950

If you have fewer than the full number of qualifying years, your basic State Pension will be less than £169.50 per week.

Check your National Insurance record to find out how many qualifying years you have.

When you can get more than the full basic State Pension

You might get more if:

• you’re eligible for Additional State Pension
• you delayed (deferred) taking your State Pension

You can defer even if you’ve started getting the basic State Pension. The basic State Pension increases by 1 per cent for every 5 weeks you defer.

Annual increases

The basic State Pension increases every year by whichever is the highest of the following:

• 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 per cent

Other benefits you might be eligible for

If you’re on a low income, you may be eligible to apply for Pension Credit, even if you’ve saved money for retirement.

If you have a disability and someone helps look after you, you may be eligible for Attendance Allowance.

You may be eligible for other benefits and financial support.

Adult Dependency Increase payments have stopped.

When you're paid

The basic State Pension is usually paid every 4 weeks into an account of your choice. If you want to change the account, Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

The day your pension is paid depends on your National Insurance number.

There are different rules if you live abroad.

Your first payment

When you claim your delayed (deferred) State Pension you’ll be asked when you want it to begin.

You’ll get your first payment at the end of the first full week in which you want to start getting your pension.

If you want to keep working

You can claim your State Pension even if you carry on working.

If your circumstances change

You must tell the Northern Ireland Pension Centre about a change of circumstances, like if you move to a new address or you change your bank details.

If you’ve been paid too much

You may have to repay the money if you:

• did not report a change straight away
• gave wrong information
• were overpaid by mistake

Find out how to repay overpaid money.

Increasing or inheriting State Pension from your spouse or civil partner

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, you might be able to get up to £101.55 per week if either:

• you’re not getting a basic State Pension
• you’re not getting the full amount (£101.55 per week)

You can only get an increase if you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and your spouse or civil partner reached State Pension age either:

• before 6 April 2016 and they qualify for basic State Pension
• on or after 6 April 2016 and they have one or more qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits from before 6 April 2016 (even if they do not qualify for the new State Pension)

You might qualify for an increase, even if your spouse or civil partner has not claimed the State Pension, or you were widowed, divorced or had your civil partnership dissolved in the last 12 months

You’ll get any Additional State Pension or Graduated Retirement Benefit, based on your own contributions, on top of the increase from your spouse or civil partner.

If your spouse or civil partner was born before 6 April 1950

You can only get the increase if you’re a woman who is married to either:

• a man
• a woman who legally changed their gender from male to female during your marriage

How to apply

Most people will get the increase automatically if they are eligible.

You need to contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre to get the increase if you’re a married woman and:

• your spouse claimed their State Pension before 17 March 2008
• you reached State Pension age before your spouse

You will also need to contact the  Northern Ireland Pension Centre if either of the following apply:

• your spouse or civil partner reached State Pension age but has not claimed their State Pension yet
• you were widowed, divorced or had your civil partnership dissolved in the last 12 months

If you’re not getting the ‘top up’ but think you qualify, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

Inheriting some spouse or civil partner’s State Pension when they die

If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, you may be able to inherit some of your spouse or civil partner’s State Pension when they die.

Contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre to check what you can claim.

You may be able to increase your basic State Pension by using their qualifying years if you do not already get the full amount of £169.50 a week.

You may also be able to inherit part of your spouse or civil partner’s Additional State Pension or Graduated Retirement Benefit.

If you reached State Pension on or after 6 April 2016 different rules apply to you.

You can check what inheritance you might be entitled to based on your spouse’s or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions.

If your spouse or civil partner deferred their State Pension

If your spouse or civil partner deferred their State Pension and built up an extra amount, you can usually claim the extra State Pension or get a lump sum. You must not have remarried or formed a new civil partnership.

If they deferred for less than 12 months, you can only get extra State Pension. You cannot get a lump sum.

You can only get the extra State Pension once you’ve reached State Pension age.

State Pension top up

If your spouse or civil partner topped up their State Pension (between 12 October 2015 and 5 April 2017), you may be able to inherit some or all of their top up.