Curious about when you can start receiving your State Pension? Understanding your State Pension age is a great first step in planning your retirement. Here’s a step-by-step guide to finding out when you qualify.
Understanding the State Pension
State Pension age depends on your date of birth. It rises from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. If you were born from 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961, your State Pension age is between 66 years and 1 month and 66 years and 11 months; if you were born from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977, it is 67. Under current law it is due to rise from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046, although the timetable is reviewed. Use the GOV.UK checker for your exact date.
Do You Qualify?
To be eligible for the State Pension, you’ll need at least 10 years of National Insurance (NI) contributions under your belt. But to receive the full pension amount, you’ll require 35 qualifying years. If you’re concerned about how many years you’ve accumulated, you can check your National Insurance record online to see where you stand.
Check Your State Pension Age
The great news is that finding out your State Pension age is quite simple! The UK government offers a handy online calculator on their GOV.UK website. Here’s how you can use it:
Click on ‘Start now’.
Select ‘State Pension age’ from the options provided.
Input your date of birth as requested.
Receive your State Pension age in seconds!
Future Changes
Keep in mind that the State Pension age is periodically reviewed and might change in the future. Changes are often influenced by factors such as improvements in life expectancy or government policy changes. It’s a good idea to keep yourself updated with any announcements in case these affect your retirement planning.
If you are a Penny member, you can also view your State Pension age in your Penny app, where we integrate Gov.uk’s calculations to automatically display your forecast age.
Penny can help
Download the Penny Pension app
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