State pension estimator
- Estimate your state pension from your NI years
- See the shortfall from the full £11,502
- See how many more years you need
- Check if buying extra years is worth it
- No sign-up required
State pension estimator
Enter the qualifying National Insurance years you already have, plus the years you expect to add before you retire. This estimates your new state pension. For your exact record, use the gov.uk forecast.
| Qualifying years at retirement | 35 |
| Full pension needs | 35 years |
| Share of full pension | 100% |
| Full new state pension | £11,502 |
| Your estimated pension | £11,502 |
This is an estimate based on the years you enter and 2026/27 rates. Your real entitlement depends on your actual National Insurance record, including any contracted-out periods, which can only be confirmed by the gov.uk forecast. Not financial advice. Source: gov.uk new state pension.
How the new state pension is worked out
The new state pension is built on your National Insurance record, not on how much you earned. For 2026/27 the full amount is £221.20 a week, which comes to £11,502 a year. To get that full figure you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.
If you have fewer than 35 years, you get a proportional slice. The sum is simple: your qualifying years divided by 35, multiplied by the full pension. So 20 years gives you 20/35 of £11,502, which is about £6,573 a year. There's a floor, though. With fewer than 10 qualifying years you get nothing from the new state pension at all.
What counts as a qualifying year
A qualifying year is any tax year where you paid enough National Insurance, or were credited with it. You build years not just from working, but also from claiming Child Benefit for a child under 12, receiving Carer's Credit, or claiming certain other benefits. Many people have more years than they expect because of these credits, and some have fewer because of gaps from time abroad, low earnings, or self-employment.
What each extra year is worth
Each qualifying year adds roughly 1/35th of the full pension, about £329 a year at current rates. That doesn't sound like much, but it's paid for the rest of your life and rises most years under the triple lock. Moving from 30 to 35 years adds around £1,643 a year, every year of your retirement.
Should you buy missing years?
If you have gaps and you're short of 35 years, filling them is often one of the best-value things you can do with your money. A full Class 3 voluntary year costs £824.20 in 2026/27 and adds about £329 a year to your pension. That's a payback period of roughly two and a half years, so anyone who lives beyond that in retirement comes out ahead, usually by a wide margin.
Two cautions. First, not every gap year can be filled, and buying a year only helps if it actually increases your forecast, which isn't always the case if you were contracted out. Second, some years cost less than the full Class 3 rate. Always check your record on the gov.uk forecast and, if in doubt, ring the Future Pension Centre before paying anything.
When you'll get it
The state pension age is currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to 68 in the years after. You can't take the state pension early, unlike a private pension. You can defer it, which increases the amount by about 1% for every nine weeks you put it off, roughly 5.8% for a full year.
The state pension is only part of the picture
Even the full £11,502 sits below the £14,400 the PLSA calls a minimum retirement for a single person, so most people need a private or workplace pension on top. Use the pension pot calculator to see what your own savings might add, and the withdrawal tax calculator to see how taking that money is taxed alongside the state pension.
Common questions
The full new state pension is £221.20 a week for 2026/27, which is £11,502 a year. You need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits to get the full amount.
You need 35 qualifying years for the full new state pension. Between 10 and 34 years gives you a proportional amount, worked out as your years divided by 35 times the full rate. With fewer than 10 qualifying years you get nothing from the new state pension.
Each qualifying year is worth about 1/35th of the full pension, roughly £329 a year at 2026/27 rates. So going from 30 to 35 years adds around £1,643 a year for life once you reach state pension age.
Usually yes, if it takes you closer to the full pension and you have gaps you can fill. A full Class 3 voluntary year costs £824.20 in 2026/27 and adds about £329 a year for life. That pays for itself in roughly 2.5 years of retirement. Check your record on gov.uk first, as some gap years can't be filled and some are cheaper than others.
Use the free "Check your State Pension forecast" service on gov.uk. It shows your qualifying years so far, what you're on track to get, and which years you can top up. This estimator gives you a quick projection, but the gov.uk service uses your actual National Insurance record.