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What The State Pension Age Calculator Works Out
- Your State Pension age: looked up from your date of birth against the legislated timetable. Anyone born before 6 April 1960 has a pension age of 66, those born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 reach it in monthly steps between 66 and 67 (landing between 2026 and 2028), and everyone born from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977 waits until 67.
- Rise to 68: legislated for those born after 5 April 1977 and currently scheduled for 2044 to 2046. Periodic government reviews have repeatedly floated bringing it forward, so younger workers should treat 68 as a floor rather than a promise.
- You reach it on and time to go: your birthday plus the pension age in months, and the whole years between today and that date. The State Pension is not paid automatically: you claim it. It also gates Pension Credit, the Winter Fuel Payment and free bus travel in England.
- Qualifying NI years so far (advanced): the years of National Insurance contributions or credits on your record. Credits cover years spent caring or claiming Child Benefit. The free State Pension forecast on GOV.UK shows your exact record.
- Keep paying NI until pension age (advanced): when set to yes, each remaining whole year before pension age is added to your record. Set it to no to see what your current record alone is worth.
- Estimated State Pension (advanced): the full new State Pension of GBP 241.30 a week (about GBP 12,548 a year) multiplied by qualifying years over 35. You need at least 10 years to get anything and pro-rating applies in between, so 20 years pays roughly GBP 137.89 a week.
- Qualifying years at pension age (advanced): years now plus projected future years, capped at 35, with the shortfall from the full rate. Each extra year adds about GBP 6.89 a week, roughly GBP 358 a year for life, so gap years can usually be filled cheaply with voluntary Class 3 contributions.
- Deferral boost (advanced): deferring your claim earns 1% extra for every 9 weeks, just under 5.8% for each full year. The card shows the higher weekly amount and the pension you forgo while waiting, which typically takes 17 or more years of the higher rate to recover.
- Private pension access (advanced): workplace and personal pensions run on a separate clock. They can normally be accessed from 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028, so anyone born after about April 1973 waits until 57.
Source and further reading: GOV.UK: check your State Pension age.