The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) pays a state pension to people when they reach a certain age, and the amount they receive varies depending on certain factors.
With approximately 12.7 million Britons currently claiming it, the state pension remains a critical financial lifeline for retirees nationwide.
There are two types of state pension available to claim, the basic state pension and the new state pension.
The full basic state pension is available to men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953. Meanwhile the new state pension is available to men and women born after these respective dates.
State pension payment amounts are determined by the number of qualifying years a person has contributed to or been credited with National Insurance (NI).
These years can be accumulated through employment, self-employment, or by claiming certain benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, or Child Benefit.
To receive any state pension at all, people must have a minimum of 10 qualifying years. Those looking to claim the full payment rates will need more years than this on their National Insurance record.
How many National Insurance years do I need to get the full state pension?
The number of qualifying years varies depending on the type of state pension a person is eligible to claim.
To get the full-rate basic state pension, which is worth up to £169.50 a week, the DWP says men usually need:
- 30 qualifying years if they were born between 1945 and 1951
- 44 qualifying years if they were born before 1945.
Meanwhile, women usually need:
- 30 qualifying years if they were born between 1950 and 1953
- 39 qualifying years if they were born before 1950.
To receive the full new state pension, which is worth up to £221.20 a week, the DWP says individuals typically need around 35 qualifying years.
However, Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has noted that this number can still vary, saying, “You need 35 years-ish to qualify for the state pension. In fact, the last time I did my graphics, I added a big ‘Ish.’ You don’t need exactly 35 years—it can be 35 years… ish. For some people, it’s as many as 43 years.”
Those with fewer than the required qualifying years on their record will receive less than the listed payment amounts per week.
Those with fewer qualifying years can make “voluntary contributions” to their National Insurance record, effectively allowing them to “buy” additional years to fill in the gaps and entitle them to higher payments.
However, it should be noted that, while purchasing missing years may be beneficial for some people, it may not be for others.
People can see if they’d benefit by checking their National Insurance record and state pension forecast on the GOV.UK website.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have also launched an online state pension forecast service to calculate if they’ll benefit from making voluntary contributions.
Those who may benefit should act quickly, as after April 2025, contributions can only be backdated by six tax years. Failing to address gaps from earlier years could result in losing thousands of pounds.
Savings expert Kevin Mountford, co-founder of the online savings platform Raisin UK said: “At the moment, you can pay to plug National Insurance gaps dating all the way back to 2006, but from April 2025, you’ll only be able to pay for voluntary contributions for the past six tax years.
“Whilst boosting your National Insurance contributions doesn’t sound like a particularly exciting thing to do with any leftover money, it could earn you thousands of pounds. Putting in a full-year class three contribution at £824 could make you £328 per year towards your pre-tax pension – that could add up to over £6,000 before you retire.”
One woman was able to boost her state pension by a staggering £60,000 after purchasing more NI years.
He added: “It’s vital you periodically review your National Insurance record going forward for any gaps, helping you secure a better pension when the time arrives.”
