State Pension

State Pension

The UK state pension is a government-provided pension that is paid to people who have reached the state pension age and who have made sufficient National Insurance contributions during their working lives. The state pension is designed to provide a basic level of income for people during retirement, and it is intended to supplement any other private or occupational pensions that an individual may have.

There are two types of state pension in the UK: the basic state pension and the new state pension. The basic state pension is paid to people who reached state pension age before April 6, 2016 and who have made sufficient National Insurance contributions. The new state pension is paid to people who reach state pension age on or after April 6, 2016 and who have made sufficient National Insurance contributions. The amount of the state pension is based on the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions and may be increased each year by the government in line with inflation.

As of December 2021, the full basic state pension is £137.60 per week, or £7,178 per year. The full new state pension is £179.60 per week, or £9,340 per year. However, the amount of state pension an individual actually receives may be less than the full amount if they do not have sufficient qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or if they are entitled to a reduced state pension due to contracting out of the state second pension.