How we calculate

State Pension age

The age calculator follows the published timetable. Birthdays from 6 October 1954 to 5 April 1960 reach State Pension age at 66. Birthdays from 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961 reach it at 66 plus one to eleven months. If the target month is shorter than the birth date, the pension date is the last day of that month, which is how a birthday of 31 July 1960 falls on 30 November 2026.

Birthdays from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977 reach State Pension age at 67. Birthdays from 6 April 1977 to 5 April 1978 use the fixed dates in the rise to 68. From 6 April 1978, State Pension age is 68. Dates of birth before 6 October 1954 are outside this calculator because the older men's and women's timetables differ.

Amount

People who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016 are on the new State Pension. The full rate is £241.30 a week. With at least 10 qualifying years, the estimate is:

weekly amount = full rate × qualifying years ÷ 35

Years above 35 do not increase this estimate. Fewer than 10 years produces a zero estimate. The annual figure is the weekly amount times 52. The calendar-month figure is the annual amount divided by 12. The four-weekly figure is the weekly amount times 4, because that is the usual payment pattern.

Qualifying years are the years you enter, plus future years you expect, capped at the number of tax years that start before your State Pension date. We do not add years after that date. We round the weekly result to the nearest penny.

What we leave out

The starting amount, contracted-out deduction, Additional State Pension and protected payment are personal. If you say you were contracted out, or you are not sure, the result warns you that the official forecast may be lower. We do not guess a deduction. The basic State Pension rate of £184.90 a week is stored for reference. It is not used for dates of birth this calculator covers, because those people reach State Pension age after April 2016.

Filling gaps

One missing year is priced at the Class 3 rate of £18.40 a week, or £956.80 for 52 weeks. The benefit shown is one thirty-fifth of the full weekly rate. That comparison is only a guide. A year might be cheaper if an older rate still applies, it might be covered by a credit, and it might not increase a contracted-out starting amount. Deadlines are usually six years.

Sources

• GOV.UK: The new State Pension
• GOV.UK: Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
• GOV.UK: State Pension age timetable
• GOV.UK: Voluntary National Insurance rates
• DWP: Your State Pension explained
• HMRC: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances

MoneyHelper, Age UK and the Pension Service publish the same rules in their own guides. We use them as checks, not as a second set of numbers. If a figure changes, the rates file and the "last updated" date change with it. See also calculator vs the official forecast.