About this calculator
Estimates only — not official advice. This calculator estimates the UK new State Pension only. It is not a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) forecast, and it does not include any workplace pension, personal pension or other retirement income — those are separate and are not counted here. Your GOV.UK State Pension forecast (gov.uk/check-state-pension) is authoritative for your own record; if it differs from this page, the forecast governs.
For a record that started after April 2016 the rule is a straight fraction: weekly pension = qualifying years / 35 x £241.30, capped at the full rate, and zero below 10 years. That is why one qualifying year is worth £241.30 / 35 = £6.89 a week (£358.50 a year) — a figure worth knowing before deciding whether a voluntary contribution year is worth buying, though you should check your forecast first, because a year only helps if it is a gap year and you are not already on track for the full rate.
For a pre-2016 record, DWP first computed a starting amount at 5 April 2016 — the higher of what the old rules would have paid and what the new rules would have paid on the record to that date — and applied any contracted-out deduction to both valuations. While you were contracted out, you or your employer paid more into a workplace or private pension and less into the State Pension, so the State Pension side is lower and the workplace pension is supposed to make up the difference. Post-2016 years then add about £6.89 a week to a below-full starting amount until the full rate is reached; a starting amount above the full rate stays above it as a protected payment, uprated by CPI only rather than the triple lock.
How to use it
- Choose whether your National Insurance record started after April 2016 (simple rule) or before it (transitional rule).
- After 2016: enter your total qualifying years. Before 2016: enter your starting amount from your GOV.UK forecast and how many qualifying years you have added since April 2016.
- Tick "contracted out" if it applies to you — for a pre-2016 record it is a reminder that your starting amount already includes the deduction; for a post-2016 record it is impossible and the calculator will say so.
- Add deferral weeks if you plan to claim late (at least 9 weeks to earn anything), and read the weekly, 4-weekly and annual figures.
The formula
Weekly figures are rounded to the penny before the 4-weekly and annual figures are derived from them (annual = rounded weekly x 52), so a 20-year record shows £137.89 a week and £7,170.28 a year. The protected payment is included inside the weekly figure, not added on top of it — it is the part of a starting amount above the full rate. Deferral is charged at 1/9% per week deferred (1% per 9 weeks) once the 9-week minimum is met, matching GOV.UK's "just under 5.8% for every full year". The State Pension is paid gross and counts toward taxable income; no tax is computed here, and future triple-lock uprating is not projected.
Worked example
A record that started after April 2016 with 20 qualifying years: 20 / 35 x £241.30 = £137.89 a week, £551.56 per 4 weeks, £7,170.28 a year. With 35 years the figure is the full £241.30 a week (£965.20 per 4 weeks, £12,547.60 a year); with 10 years it is £68.94 a week; with 9 years it is £0 — the 10-year minimum bites. Transitional example: a starting amount of £200.00 a week plus 5 post-2016 years gives £200.00 + 5 x £6.89 = £234.47 a week, £6.83 short of the full rate. A starting amount of £260.00 a week stays at £260.00, of which £18.70 is the protected payment above the full rate. Deferring the full pension by 52 weeks adds 52 / 9 x 1% = 5.78%, taking £241.30 to £255.24 a week.
Sources: GOV.UK — The new State Pension (gov.uk/new-state-pension); GOV.UK — Your State Pension explained, sections 3a (full rate £241.30, 2026/27), 3b (starting amount, post-2016 additions, protected payment), 5 (deferral) and 7 (contracted out) (gov.uk/government/publications/your-new-state-pension-explained/your-state-pension-explained). Verified October 2026. Note: that guide's £6.89 parenthetical still cites the 2025/26 rate (£230.25); this page divides the current £241.30 rate, which is what gives £6.89. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is a qualifying year?
A tax year (6 April to 5 April) in which you paid enough National Insurance or received enough credits — for 2026/27, employed earnings over £242 a week from one employer, earnings between £129 and £242 a week treated as paid, self-employed Class 2 contributions (£3.65 a week), voluntary contributions (£18.40 a week), or credits for caring, Child Benefit for a child under 12, or certain benefits. Years do not have to be consecutive.
I was contracted out. Why does the calculator ask for a starting amount instead of just deducting something?
Because no published formula converts contracted-out years into a pound deduction: the deduction depends on your earnings and scheme history, and DWP computed it inside your starting amount at 5 April 2016, applied to both the old-rules and new-rules valuations. Any calculator that invents a per-year contracted-out deduction is guessing. Your GOV.UK forecast already contains the deducted figure — enter it and the rest of the arithmetic is exact.
Can I get more than £241.30 a week?
Yes, two ways: a protected payment, if your pre-2016 starting amount exceeded the full rate (it is paid on top of the full rate and uprated by CPI only), or deferral, which adds 1% per 9 weeks deferred. Extra post-2016 years never take you above the full rate on their own.
I have more than 35 qualifying years. Do the extra years add anything?
On a post-2016 record, no — 35 is the cap. On a pre-2016 record, post-2016 years add value only until your starting amount reaches the full rate; after that they add nothing. If your forecast says more years cannot increase your pension, voluntary contributions for those years add nothing either.
Is the State Pension taxed?
It is paid gross (no tax deducted at source) but it counts toward your total taxable income for the year. In 2026/27 the full new State Pension annual equivalent (£12,547.60) sits just under the £12,570 Personal Allowance on its own, so any other income — or any deferral uplift — is taxed from the first pound above the allowance. This page computes no tax.
What if I have under 10 qualifying years?
You usually get no new State Pension, but time spent contributing in the EEA or Switzerland, or living in Canada, New Zealand or (before 5 April 2001) Australia, can sometimes count toward the 10-year minimum — the amount paid is still based only on UK qualifying years (plus, for Canada/New Zealand/Australia residence, the added time). DWP decides this at claim; it is not modelled here.
Where is my official figure?
Check your State Pension forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension: it shows how much you are on track to get, your State Pension age, your National Insurance record and gaps, and whether more years would increase it. That forecast is authoritative for your record; this calculator explains and reproduces its arithmetic.
What formula does this UK State Pension calculator use?
After April 2016: Weekly = min(qualifying years, 35) / 35 x £241.30 (0 if under 10 years). Before April 2016: Weekly = min(£241.30, starting amount + post-2016 years x £241.30 / 35) if starting amount <= £241.30, else starting amount (protected payment = starting amount - £241.30). With deferral: Weekly x (1 + deferral weeks / 9 x 1%) if deferral weeks >= 9, else unchanged. 4-weekly = weekly x 4; annual = weekly x 52. Weekly figures are rounded to the penny before the 4-weekly and annual figures are derived from them (annual = rounded weekly x 52), so a 20-year record shows £137.89 a week and £7,170.28 a year. The protected payment is included inside the weekly figure, not added on top of it — it is the part of a starting amount above the full rate. Deferral is charged at 1/9% per week deferred (1% per 9 weeks) once the 9-week minimum is met, matching GOV.UK's "just under 5.8% for every full year". The State Pension is paid gross and counts toward taxable income; no tax is computed here, and future triple-lock uprating is not projected. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.