State Retirement Pension

State Retirement Pension is paid to customers who have reached state pension age and have paid, or been credited with enough National Insurance Contributions.

State Retirement Pension is a taxable benefit, tax will only be due if the person's State Retirement Pension and any other taxable income exceeds their tax allowance.

Anyone who:

From 2010 there are changes to the state pension age for women.

A married woman, partner, widow, widower or surviving civil partner may claim on the record of the spouse, civil partner, deceased spouse or late civil partner.

A married woman or a civil partner at age 60 can qualify for a pension either on their own contributions if they have paid enough, or they can get a basic pension based on their husband's or civil partner's contributions providing they are receiving State Retirement Pension.

A married woman or a civil partner will usually get the higher of these state pensions. If the state pension based on their own contributions is less than the maximum that a married woman or civil partner can receive on their husband's or civil partner's contributions, they can combine the two up to that maximum.

If a woman is widowed before the age of 60, when she reaches 60 she can claim State Retirement Pension or continue to get any Widow's Benefit that she is entitled to until she claims State Retirement Pension or reaches age 65.

If a woman is widowed after the age of 60 she can receive State Retirement Pension based on her own and/or her late husband's contributions or she may be able to receive Widow's Benefit instead.

A letter is sent to the latest address held on record four months before the customer reaches state pension age. If the letter is not received by three months before state pension age you should contact the Pensions Service, Windsor House on Tel 028 90 549393.

The letter invites you to phone the Tele-claims Free Phone Service to:

Alternatively you can:

Freephone lines will be open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday and a Text phone will be available if you have speech or hearing difficulties.

The Tele-claims service is exclusively for the use of people who are about to retire and should not be used for general benefit enquiries or if you are already claiming State Retirement Pension.

You can also claim State Retirement Pension online.  Visit our Services and benefits online pages for more information.

State Retirement Pension offers a choice of how you receive payment, the options are as follows:

Payments of £5 per week or less are paid annually.

For life.

£90.70   Basic Pension

£54.35   Increase for adult dependant

£54.35   Pension based on spouse's contributions

      25p  Over 80 Age Addition

A man who became a widower or a surviving civil partner before the age of 65 who is not entitled to a full basic state pension can have his wife's or civil partner's contributions taken into account to give him a higher state pension.

If the man became a widower or a surviving civil partner after the age of 65, is not entitled to a full basic state pension, and his wife was under 60 when she died or his civil partner was under 65 when he died, their contributions may be taken into account to give him a higher state pension.

If his wife was over 60,or his civil partner was over 65, he may be able to receive State Retirement Pension based on their contributions plus one based on his contributions, up to the maximum a single person can receive.

In all cases only the wife's or civil partner's full rate contributions count.

If you are divorced or your civil partnership has been dissolved and not entitled to a full basic state pension your former spouse's or civil partner's contributions may be taken into account to give you a higher state pension (a former wife's married women's reduced rate contributions do not count).

You do not have to wait until the former spouse or civil partner claims.

State Retirement Pension can be made up of several components. Basic state pension is paid to any man or woman who claims the state pension on his or her own record, or to a widow(er) or divorced person claiming on the record of a deceased or former spouse, or civil partner.

A married woman or civil partner can claim a basic state pension on her spouse's or civil partner's record which will be at a lower rate.

If enough contributions have been paid, the basic state pension will be at the full rate. If not enough contributions have been paid, the basic state pension will be at a reduced rate depending on how many contributions have been paid.

A basic state pension at less than 25% of the full rate will not be payable.

Basic state pension can be increased if the claiming of State Retirement Pension is deferred and no excluding benefits are payable.

An Invalidity Allowance can also be paid in certain cases and Age Addition will become payable when the customer reaches age 80.

Additions for a dependent adult can be paid as long as the earnings limit is not exceeded.

For an adult dependant living with the customer, the limit is £60.50. If the dependent adult does not live with the customer, the limit is £54.35.

Additions for dependent children cannot be paid if the customer's spouse or partner lives with them and earns more than £180 per week for the first child and £24 for each extra child.

Any occupational pension paid to the customer's partner counts as earnings.

Additional Pension is an earnings-related part of State Retirement Pension.

The amount payable depends on your earnings since April 1978 upon which Class 1, 2 or 3 contributions were paid.

Anyone who contributed to the Graduated Pension Scheme which existed between April 1961 and April 1975 will receive graduated pension at state pension age.

For every £7.50 (man) or £9 (woman) of graduated contributions paid, you are entitled to 9.93 pence.

State Retirement Pension is not affected if you receive Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance , but it is not payable at the same time as an allowance paid with an Industrial or War Disablement Pension.

Any Graduated Retirement Benefit you are entitled to can be paid in addition to Industrial or War Disablement Pension.

If you receive any other contributory benefit at the same time as basic state pension, your benefit will be adjusted so that you receive a total amount equal to the highest rates of benefit payable to you.