The UK state pension age will rise from 66 to 67 for men and women by 2028. The increase will begin gradually from May 6, 2026.
State pensions in the UK are reviewed at least every five years as part of the 2014 Pensions Act. The review considers factors such as increased life expectancy.
Brits impacted by the increased state pension age will receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) before it comes into effect.
You can check your state pension age on the Government website here.
What are the highest and lowest retirement ages around the world?
As of 2024, the countries with the highest retirement ages for both men and women are Italy, Australia, the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, and Iceland, all with a retirement age of 67.
In Israel, the retirement age for men is 67, while women can retire at 63.
Other countries with high retirement ages include the United States (66.7 years for both men and women), Spain (66.5), and Portugal (66.3).
Only a few countries have a state retirement age below 60.
Sri Lanka has one of the lowest pension ages in the world at 55.
Indonesia and Bangladesh follow with retirement ages of 58 and 59, respectively.
How much is the state pension in the UK?
The UK state pension is £221.20 per week. You must have made at least 35 years of National Insurance (NI) contributions or credits to receive the full amount.
You must have made NI contributions for at least 10 years to get any state pension. You get a proportion of the full amount if you’ve contributed between 10 and 34 years.
Your amount could be different depending on:
- If you were contracted out before 2016.
- The number of National Insurance qualifying years you have.
- If you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016.
A new state pension system was introduced in April 2016. The system which applies to you depends on whether you reached the state pension age before or after it was introduced.
If you started making NI contributions before April 2016, you receive a ‘starting amount,’ which is whatever is highest of the following:
- The amount you would have received under the old system
- The amount you’d get if the new State Pension had started at the beginning of your working life.
You generally cannot claim extra state pension based on your spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions, except in certain cases. For instance, if you are widowed, you may be able to inherit some of your spouse or civil partner’s additional state pension accrued under the pre-2016 system.
How can you claim your state pension in the UK?
UK residents don’t automatically receive their state pension. You should receive a letter from the Pension Service about four months before reaching the state pension age, After that, you can claim your pension online, by phone, or by post.
You can continue working after reaching state pension age, and it won’t affect the amount you receive.
