A reminder about the new State Pension

Last April there was a big shake-up in the State Pension. A new, simpler system was introduced based on your National Insurance (NI) record.

In order to quality for any State Pension, you will need a minimum of 10 years’ NI contributions and 35 years to quality for the full amount (previously 30 years). These NI contributions can be actual or credited.

For the current tax year 2016/2017, the new State Pension is £155.65 per week and applies to men born after 6 April 1951 and women born after 6 April 1953. More information can be found on the Government website: www.gov.uk/new-state-pension.

If you’re over 55, you can get a State Pension forecast here: www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement. You will need to login to your Government Gateway account to use the service or register online. To find out at what age you’ll be entitled to the new State Pension, you can use the following calculator: www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension. You might also find it helpful to watch some videos on PensionTube. Here is the first in a series about the new State Pension.