State Pension 2023/24

PENSIONS | 4 MIN READ

State Pension 2023/24 How much do you get and can you boost it?

Written by Sally Dempsey
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For most people, the State Pension forms the foundation block of retirement income planning.

A pension worth having – the full ‘new’ state pension is currently £10,600 per year per person (£21,200 per couple) and increases each year by the
higher of the rise in earnings, prices or 2.5%. This is called the ‘triple lock’. the ‘triple lock’.

Do you qualify for a full pension?

To qualify for a full State Pension, an individual will need to complete 35
qualifying years. How much pension you receive depends on how many ‘qualifying years’ you have amassed but a minimum of 10 qualifying years
is required to be entitled to any state pension.

Whether you are employed or self-employed, you gain a qualifying year by
paying national insurance in each tax year or by receiving NI credits or by
Paying voluntary NI contributions.

Getting your State Pension forecast and NI record is quick and instantly available through the Government Gateway. We recommend that you do this periodically to ensure you are on track.

Check your National Insurance record

The forecast will show what State Pension has accumulated to date and, importantly, what additional NI credits will be required to receive the full entitlement.

If you have Gaps in National Insurance record

You may have a gap in your National Insurance record for a number or reasons. These include:

Living abroad for a period of time.
Employed but on low earnings.
Not working and not claiming any benefits.
Self-employed but not paying National Insurance contributions because your profits are below the Small Profits Threshold.

A gap in your National Insurance record doesn’t mean you won’t receive a full new State Pension – as long as you’ve 35 qualifying years at State Pension age.

If gaps in your record means you won’t have 35 qualifying years, then you could make voluntary National Insurance contributions to make up for these.

Making voluntary contributions

If you don’t qualify for the maximum State Pension, you can boost the amount you will receive. But, you need to decide by the deadline of 5 April 2025 whether to top up.

The government is also extending the deadline to pay voluntary NICs for tax year 2016 to 2017, to 31 July 2023.

Note that you can’t pay to increase your state pension beyond the maximum of £203.85 a week, so if you’re projected to get £200 a week or more, topping up is less good value for money.

Warning

There are many complexities when making the decision to top up your state pension or not, so the only way to know for sure if this is likely to benefit you is to get personalised information from the Future Pension Centre or the Pension Service.

Both services provide specific information about your current national insurance record. They’ll tell you whether doing so will actually result in any increase to your (eventual) state pension. It is possible to pay to plug a gap and see no gain, which is why this step is so important.

If you’re not yet at state pension age…

You need to:

Contact the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175.

It’s free to make the call. The lines are open between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full contact information is on the Future Pension Centre pages.

If you’re already at state pension age…

You need to:

Contact the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469.

It’s free and phone lines are open between 8am and 6pm on Monday to Friday. See full Pension Service contact info.

Whatever your thoughts, to ensure you take account of the full range of available options, we would always recommend you consider obtaining professional financial advice.

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A PENSION IS A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT NOT NORMALLY ACCESSIBLE UNTIL AGE 55 (57 FROM APRIL 2028 UNLESS PLAN HAS A PROTECTED PENSION AGE). THE VALUE OF YOUR INVESTMENTS (AND ANY INCOME FROM THEM) CAN GO DOWN AS WELL AS UP WHICH WOULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE LEVEL OF PENSION BENEFITS AVAILABLE. YOUR PENSION INCOME COULD ALSO BE AFFECTED BY THE INTEREST RATES AT THE TIME YOU TAKE YOUR BENEFITS.

THE TAX IMPLICATIONS OF PENSION WITHDRAWALS WILL BE BASED ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES, TAX LEGISLATION AND REGULATION WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. YOU SHOULD SEEK ADVICE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR OPTIONS AT RETIREMENT.

This content is for your general information and use only, and is not intended to address your particular requirements. The content should not be relied upon in its entirety and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute, advice. Although endeavours have been made to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No individual or company should act upon such information without receiving appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of their particular situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of the content. Thresholds, percentage rates and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts. Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. All figures relate to the 2018/19 tax year, unless otherwise stated.