The new State Pension vs the basic State Pension

The dividing line

The State Pension was overhauled in April 2016. The old system — a flat-rate basic State Pension plus an earnings-related Additional State Pension — closed to new pensioners, and a single flat-rate new State Pension replaced it. The rule is simple: if you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, you are on the new State Pension. If you reached it before 6 April 2016, you stay on the old system. Nothing you do now can move you from one system to the other.

The new State Pension: the full rate and the 35-year rule

The full rate of the new State Pension is £241.30 a week for 2026/27 (£12,547.60 a year). To get the full rate, you generally need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record — years in which you paid National Insurance, received National Insurance credits (for example while claiming certain benefits, caring for a child, or caring for someone), or paid voluntary contributions. You need at least 10 qualifying years to get any new State Pension at all. Between 10 and 35 years, you get a proportionate share: each qualifying year is worth one thirty-fifth of the full rate, which works out at £6.89 a week (£358.50 a year). So 20 qualifying years gives about £137.89 a week, and 30 years gives about £206.83 a week.

Two complications matter. First, if your National Insurance record started before April 2016, your pension is worked out from a transitional calculation called your starting amount, and if you were contracted out of the Additional State Pension, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years to reach the full rate. Second, if you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016 and would have received more under the old rules, you get a protected payment on top of the full rate — see the protected payments guide.

The basic State Pension and the Additional State Pension

The full basic State Pension is £184.90 a week for 2026/27 (£9,614.80 a year), and the full rate historically required 30 qualifying years. On top of it, many people on the old system also receive an Additional State Pension built up from earnings-related contributions under SERPS (1978–2002) and the State Second Pension (2002–2016). That is why someone on the old system can receive more in total than the new headline rate: the basic pension is only part of their payment. If you are on the old system, your forecast — not the headline rate — is the number that matters.

The triple lock: how both rates rise each April

Both the new and basic State Pension rise each April under the triple lock: by whichever is highest of average earnings growth in Great Britain, CPI inflation, or 2.5%. For 2026/27 the rise was 4.8%, driven by earnings growth, taking the new rate from £230.25 to £241.30 and the basic rate from £176.45 to £184.90. The triple lock is government policy, not a guarantee written into the pension itself, and future governments could change it — but while it applies, it is the reason the headline rate moves every April.

Frequently asked questions

I reached State Pension age in 2015. Am I on the new State Pension?

No. You are on the basic State Pension plus any Additional State Pension you built up. The new State Pension only applies to people who reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.

Why do some people get more than £241.30 a week?

Usually because of a protected payment: if their entitlement under the old rules would have been higher than the new full rate, the difference is paid on top. People on the old system can also exceed it once their Additional State Pension is added.

Does the 35-year rule apply to the basic State Pension too?

No. The 35-year rule is a new State Pension rule. The full basic State Pension historically required 30 qualifying years, and Additional State Pension depended on earnings, not just years.