The new State Pension is being introduced for people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.
You’ll be able to claim the new State Pension if you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. This applies to:
- Men born on or after 6 April 1951
- Women born on or after 6 April 1953
If you were born before those dates you’ll be able to claim your State Pension under the current system instead.
You can check when you’ll reach State Pension age at www.gov.uk/state-pension-age.
How much will you get?
The amount of new State Pension you get will mainly depend on your own National Insurance record. You’ll usually need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any new State Pension.
As the new State Pension is normally based on your own National Insurance record you could get more or less than the full rate in certain situations. In April 2016 we will calculate the minimum amount of new State Pension you could get when you reach State Pension age.
To do this, government do 2 calculations to work out your Starting Amount, which will be the higher of either:
The amount you would get under the current State Pension rules (which includes basic State Pension and additional State Pension)
The amount you would have got under new State Pension rules
Starting Amounts will include some adjustment for time contracted-out of the additional State Pension.
For more information on these changes and what they mean for you, visit www.gov.uk/yourstatepension.
An animation explaining contracting-out and the impact on the new State Pension can be found on PensionTube.
