You will be able to claim the new State Pension if you are:
- a man born on or after 6 April 1951
- a woman born on or after 6 April 1953
The earliest you can get the new State Pension is when you reach State Pension age.
If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, you will get the State Pension under the old rules instead.
Your National Insurance record
You will usually need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any State Pension. They do not 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 or a parent or 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.
ou might also qualify if you have paid married women’s or widow’s reduced rate contributions.
Working after State Pension age
You do not have to stop working when you reach State Pension age but you will no longer have to pay National Insurance. You can also request flexible working arrangements.
See also:
- What you will get
- How to claim
- How it is calculated
- You have been in a workplace, personal or stakeholder pension
- Inheriting or increasing State Pension from a spouse or civil partner