Full New State Pension payments in retirement means you need to work this number of years

Older people do not automatically receive full New State Pension payments of £230.25 each week when they retire.

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the State Pension currently provides a regular financial income for 13 million older people across the country, including more than one million retirees living in Scotland.

This payment is available for those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is currently 66 for both men and women, and have paid at least 10 years’ worth of National Insurance (NI) contributions.

However, many people approaching retirement age may not be aware that to receive the full New State Pension payment of £230.25 each week, they will need around 35 years’ worth of NI contributions. This is just an average number of years as some people may have been ‘contracted out’ and will need more NI contributions to qualify for the full amount – find out more about this on GOV.UK here.

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Workplace and private pensions will help bolster the State Pension in retirement, but many people may be relying on the contributory benefit as their only income in retirement, so it’s crucial to be aware of how many years you will need to make NI contributions in order to get the maximum payout.

The State Pension age is set to increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028 with a further planned rise to 68 due to take place in the mid-2040’s.

If you are worried about how many years you need to work – if retirement is a long way off, or just a few years away – our handy guide below should help you understand how National Insurance contributions affect the amount of State Pension you will be paid.

How to get any New State Pension payment

You will need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to qualify for any State Pension, but they don’t have to be 10 qualifying years in a row.

This means for 10 years at least one or more of the following applied to you:

• you were working and paid National Insurance contributions
• you were getting National Insurance credits for example if you were unemployed, ill, a parent or a carer
• you were paying voluntary National Insurance contributions

If you have lived or worked abroad you might still be able to get some New State Pension.

You might also qualify if you have paid married women’s or widow’s reduced rate contributions – find out more about this on the GOV.UK website here.

How to get full New State Pension payments

The first thing to understand is the term ‘full’ means the maximum amount of New State Pension a person can receive.

You will need around 35 qualifying years to receive the full New State Pension if you do not have a National Insurance record before 6 April 2016 – this may be more if you were ‘contracted out’, find out more here.

For people who have contributed between 10 and 35 years, they are entitled to a portion of the new State Pension, but not the full amount unless they buy additional NI years.

Qualifying years if you are working

When you are working you pay National Insurance and get a qualifying year if:

• you’re employed and earning over £242 a week from one employer
• you’re self-employed and paying NI contributions

You might not pay National Insurance contributions because you’re earning less than £242 a week. You may still get a qualifying year if you earn between £123 and £242 a week from one employer – find out more here.

Qualifying years if you are not working

You may get National Insurance credits if you cannot work – for example because of illness or disability, or if you’re a carer or you’re unemployed.

You can get National Insurance credits if you:

• claim Child Benefit for a child under 12 (or under 16 before 2010)
• get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
• receive Carer’s Allowance

If you are not working or getting National Insurance credits

You might be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you’re not in one of these groups but want to increase your State Pension amount. Find out more on the GOV.UK website here.

What if there are gaps in your National Insurance record?

You can have gaps in your NI record and still get the full New State Pension. You can get a State Pension statement which will tell you how much State Pension you may get. You can then apply for a National Insurance statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check if your record has gaps.

If you have gaps in your National Insurance record that would prevent you from getting the full New State Pension, you may be able to:

• get National InsuranceI credits
• make voluntary National Insurance contributions

Check your National Insurance record on GOV.UK here.

Check your State Pension age

Check your State Pension age to find out when you can retire and claim State pension using the free online tool at GOV.UK here.

This will tell you:

• when you will reach State Pension age
• your Pension Credit qualifying age

We have a dedicated section for the latest news on the State Pension here.