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Money, tax and benefits

Money, tax and benefits

Help if you have little or no pension

By planning ahead you can make sure you have enough pension when you retire. If you do end up with little or no pension you may be able to get Pension Credit, and may be entitled to a non-contributory State Pension if you are over 80.

Will you get any State Pension?

You qualify for the State Pension by building up enough ‘qualifying years’. A qualifying year is a tax year in which you have sufficient earnings upon which you have paid,or are treated as having paid, or are credited with National Insurance contributions.

Men normally need to have 44 qualifying years to be entitled to the full basic State Pension at 65. Women who reach the age of 60 before 2010 normally need 39 qualifying years to get the full basic State Pension. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of qualifying years normally needed by a woman will increase from 39 to 44. This is because by 2020, State Pension age will become 65 for both men and women.

If you don't have enough qualifying years, you may be entitled to a smaller State Pension. If you have 25 per cent or more qualifying years, you'll get a weekly basic State Pension between the minimum (£22.68 in 2008-2009) and the maximum (£90.70).

Changes to qualifying years

Between 2024  and 2046, State Pension age will increase - for both men and women - from age 65 to 68. Men and women who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010 will only need 30 qualifying years to get a full State Pension. If you have less than 30 qualifying years you will get a proportion of the full State Pension. For example, if you have seven qualifying years, you will get a State Pension that is 7/30ths of the full State Pension.

If you're within four months of State Pension age, you should have received an invitation to claim through the post. If you haven't, get in touch with The Pension Service straight away.

You can call The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265, textphone 0845 60 60 285. Lines are open 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Topping up your State Pension

If you have tax years which don’t count as qualifying years you may be able to boost your basic State Pension by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for those years. You can pay voluntary National Insurance contributions back to 1996. A State Pension forecast can tell you if paying voluntary National Insurance contributions will improve your State Pension. 

If you’ve missed paying National Insurance contributions because you were caring for a child or sick or disabled person you should have been automatically credited with contributions for those years.

If you're a married woman, you may qualify for a basic State Pension based on your husband's National Insurance contributions. You can find out more by downloading a leaflet from The Pension Service website.

Pension Credit

If you're aged 60 or over, you may qualify for Pension Credit.

Pension Credit is an income-related benefit for people aged 60 or over living in Great Britain that provides, or contributes to, a guaranteed level of income of £124.05 per week for a single person (£189.35 for a couple). These amounts may be more for people who have caring responsibilities, are severely disabled or have certain housing costs.

People aged 65 and over can also be rewarded for some of their savings and income they have for their retirement.

State Pension if you're aged 80 or over

If you don't have enough qualifying years to get the basic State Pension you may get a 'non-contributory' State Pension if you're aged 80 or over. This is set at about 60 per cent of the full basic State Pension.

You can claim if:

  • you're aged 80 or over
  • you don't get basic State Pension, or your basic State Pension is less than £54.35 a week (in 2008-2009)
  • you live in England, Scotland or Wales, and have done so for 10 years or more in any continuous period of 20 years after your 60th birthday

You'll receive:

  • £54.35 a week if you don't get basic State Pension
  • if you're on a reduced basic State Pension – you'll get the difference between this reduced amount and £54.35

Other retirement benefits

There are other retirement benefits to which you may be entitled. Some are available to all people over certain ages and some only to those who need them.

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