Overview

• The State Pension age will increase from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028 as part of a multi-year reform.
• Pensioners must actively claim their State Pension by responding to a DWP letter, or payments of up to £230.25 weekly could be delayed.
• A minimum of ten years of National Insurance contributions is required to qualify for any payment and 35 years is needed to receive the full New State Pension.
• Those who choose to defer their State Pension will receive higher weekly payments at a rate of about 1% for every nine weeks of deferral, with increases indexed to CPI inflation.
• Approximately 13 million people currently receive State Pension and are encouraged to check their National Insurance records and use online forecasting tools ahead of the age change.