There is a widespread lack of awareness around the state pension, with many adults unsure of how much they will receive and when they will start receiving it, according to new research1 from Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report.
As the full new state pension rises to almost £12,000 a year, half of UK adults (50%) are unaware of how much they’ll receive from their state pension, including 31% of those nearing retirement, aged 55-64. Meanwhile, nearly a third of UK adults (32%) and 12% of 55 to 64-year-olds don’t know the age at which they’ll qualify for the state pension age - their state pension age.
Significant state pension knowledge gap
Standard Life’s research, conducted among 6,000 UK adults, found a substantial lack of understanding regarding other areas of the state pension. Over half of those surveyed admitted they had no idea of the current value of state pension payments (51%) and were also unaware of how to calculate their state pension entitlement (52%). Meanwhile, over a third (34%) revealed they didn’t know that their National Insurance contributions determine the level of entitlement and the amount of money they’ll receive from the
State in retirement.
Dean Butler, Managing Director for Retail Direct at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group commented: “With the state pension set to rise to £11,973 a year for the 2025-26 tax year, it remains a crucial part of many people’s retirement income. But despite its importance, there’s still a lot of confusion around how it works and how much people might get. Knowing when you’ll start receiving your state pension and how much you’re likely to get is an important part of planning for retirement. It helps you work out how much extra you need to save, when you could afford to retire, and what your overall financial picture will look like. Understanding how your National Insurance (NI) contributions impact your retirement is also vital, so you’re not caught out when the time comes. With the personal allowance frozen at £12,570 until 2028, there’s a good chance that people will pay tax on the state pension alone from 2026 or 2027. The government might change the rules to avoid this, but it’s good to be aware of tax when planning for retirement.”
Dean Butler at Standard Life answers key questions about the State Pension:
What is the state pension?
“The state pension is regular payment made to you by the government every four weeks once you’ve reached state pension age. Not everyone is entitled to the full state pension, and the amount you receive might not be enough for you to live on. Therefore, it’s important to factor your state pension into your retirement planning and ensure have a good idea of how much it might be worth, when you can claim it and how it will stack up with your other retirement savings.
What's the current state pension amount?
“The full new state pension amount is £230.25 per week for the 2025/2026 tax year. However, the amount you get is dependent on your how many ‘qualifying’ years of National Insurance payments you have. You'll usually need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any state pension and you’ll need 35 qualifying years to get the full new state pension if you do not have a National Insurance record before 6 April 2016.
What is my state pension age?
“Your earliest age you can start receiving state pension is known as your state pension age. You can find this out easily on the UK Government’s website. Men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953 can claim the basic state pension now, but if you were born on or after these dates, you’ll be eligible for the new state pension when you reach state pension age. This age is regularly reviewed to account for factors such as affordability and life expectancy - it is currently 66 but will rise to 67 by 2028. Despite this, modern, flexible workplace and personal pension plans normally let you start taking your money from the age of 55, rising to 57 in 2028. So, you can access some of your pension benefits before you receive your state pension.
How the state pension triple lock work?
“The purpose of the triple lock is to ensure that the state pension doesn’t lose value over time. It guarantees that, each year, the state pension will rise by the highest of three measures: inflation in the September of the previous year (as measured by Consumer Prices Index); the average increase in total wages across the UK for May to June of the previous year; or 2.5%. Therefore, if UK wage growth stays around its current figure of 5.8% between May and July, it will determine the state pension increase under this year’s triple lock.
Are you being paid the correct state pension amount?
“Around 750,000 people are not receiving the correct state pension amount either due to errors in National Insurance records or the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) not making adjustments when there’s a change to your circumstances. If you’ve time spent raising children and were not in paid employment make sure to check that you have received NI credit for this period. For women whose husbands retired from 17 March 2008 make sure to check your entitlement to ensure that it was increased appropriately, and if you are over 80 and on a low pension, check that the DWP has assessed you for the over 80’s rate. Finally, if you’ve been receiving Universal Credit, double-check that you have been getting NI credits.
Will the state pension be enough to fund my retirement?
“The reality is there’s a significant gap between what you get from the state pension and what you may actually need or want in retirement. The state pension only covers a very basic lifestyle – less than is needed for a minimum standard of living in retirement, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association - and, because it only starts in your late 60s, it won’t help to support you if you want to retire earlier. It should therefore only form part of your overall retirement plan and, so, it’s important to fully understand how much you might need to save into your personal or workplace pension plan to potentially be able to afford the retirement you want. A pension calculator can help you see if you’re on track.”
State pension payments:
New state pension eligibility: men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953. 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.
Basic state pension eligibility: men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953. 30 years of National Insurance contributions if you reach state pension age (SPA) after 6/4/2010 but may be different if you reached SPA before this date.
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