Eligibility

You’ll be able to claim the new State Pension if you’re:

  • a man born on or after 6 April 1951
  • a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

The earliest you can get the new State Pension is when you reach State Pension age.

If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, these rules do not apply. Instead, you’ll get the basic State Pension.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) and easy read format.

Your National Insurance record

You’ll usually need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any State Pension. They do not have to be 10 qualifying years in a row.

This means for 10 years at least one or more of the following applied to you:

If you’ve lived or worked abroad you might still be able to get some new State Pension.

You might also qualify if you’ve paid married women’s or widow’s reduced rate contributions.

The number of qualifying years on your National Insurance record affects how much State Pension you get. Check your State Pension forecast to see what you might get.

Working after State Pension age

If you keep working after you reach State Pension age you can stop paying National Insurance. You can also request flexible working arrangements.