Blog home
Living Abroad
Living abroad tips

A brief guide to the UK state pension

8 min read
Calculator placeholder

Send from

Enter the country or currency you want to send money from.

Popular

All countries

EUR Austria
EUR Belgium
EUR Croatia
EUR Cyprus
CZK Czech Republic
EUR Czech Republic
DKK Denmark
EUR Denmark
EUR Estonia
EUR Finland
EUR France
EUR Germany
EUR Greece
HUF Hungary
EUR Hungary
ISK Iceland
EUR Iceland
EUR Ireland
EUR Italy
EUR Latvia
EUR Liechtenstein
EUR Lithuania
EUR Luxembourg
EUR Malta
EUR Monaco
EUR Netherlands
NOK Norway
EUR Norway
PLN Poland
EUR Poland
EUR Portugal
RON Romania
EUR Romania
EUR San Marino
EUR Slovakia
EUR Slovenia
EUR Spain
SEK Sweden
EUR Sweden
GBP United Kingdom
EUR United Kingdom
TRY Turkey

Exchange Rate

– – –

GBP 1 = NGN 2030.28232

Transfer Fee

Free – – – 0.99 0.99 USD

Receiver gets

Enter the country or currency you want to receive money in.

Popular

All countries

EUR Andorra
AED United Arab Emirates
XCD Anguilla
ALL Albania
AMD Armenia
EUR Armenia
USD Armenia
AOA Angola
EUR Austria
AUD Australia
AWG Aruba
AZN Azerbaijan
EUR Azerbaijan
USD Azerbaijan
BBD Barbados
BDT Bangladesh
EUR Belgium
XOF Burkina Faso
BGN Bulgaria
EUR Bulgaria
BHD Bahrain
USD Bahrain
BMD Bermuda
BND Brunei Darussalam
BOB Bolivia
BSD Bahamas
BTN Bhutan
BWP Botswana
BZD Belize
CAD Canada
CHF Switzerland
EUR Switzerland
NZD Cook Islands
CLP Chile
XAF Cameroon
USD China
COP Colombia
CRC Costa Rica
ANG Curaçao
EUR Cyprus
CZK Czech Republic
EUR Czech Republic
EUR Germany
DJF Djibouti
DKK Denmark
EUR Denmark
XCD Dominica
DOP Dominican Republic
DZD Algeria
USD Ecuador
EUR Estonia
EGP Egypt
EUR Spain
ETB Ethiopia
EUR Finland
FJD Fiji
USD Micronesia
EUR France
XAF Gabon
EUR United Kingdom
GBP United Kingdom
XCD Grenada
GEL Georgia
EUR Georgia
USD Georgia
GHS Ghana
GIP Gibraltar
GMD Gambia
XAF Equatorial Guinea
EUR Greece
USD Guam
GYD Guyana
HKD Hong Kong
USD Hong Kong
HNL Honduras
EUR Croatia
EUR Hungary
HUF Hungary
IDR Indonesia
EUR Ireland
ILS Israel
INR India
USD India
EUR Iceland
EUR Italy
JMD Jamaica
JPY Japan
USD Japan
KES Kenya
USD Kenya
KGS Kyrgyzstan
EUR Kyrgyzstan
USD Kyrgyzstan
KHR Cambodia
AUD Kiribati
KMF Comoros
XCD Saint Kitts and Nevis
KWD Kuwait
USD Kuwait
KYD Cayman Islands
KZT Kazakhstan
EUR Kazakhstan
USD Kazakhstan
XCD Saint Lucia
EUR Liechtenstein
LKR Sri Lanka
LSL Lesotho
EUR Lithuania
EUR Luxembourg
EUR Latvia
MAD Morocco
EUR Monaco
EUR Moldova
MDL Moldova
USD Moldova
MGA Madagascar
MKD Macedonia
MNT Mongolia
EUR Martinique
MRU Mauritania
EUR Malta
MUR Mauritius
MVR Maldives
MWK Malawi
MXN Mexico
MYR Malaysia
MZN Mozambique
NAD Namibia
XOF Niger
NGN Nigeria
EUR Netherlands
EUR Norway
NOK Norway
NPR Nepal
NZD New Zealand
USD New Zealand
OMR Oman
USD Oman
USD Panama
PEN Peru
PGK Papua New Guinea
PHP Philippines
PKR Pakistan
PLN Poland
EUR Poland
USD Puerto Rico
EUR Portugal
PYG Paraguay
QAR Qatar
USD Qatar
EUR Reunion
EUR Romania
RON Romania
RWF Rwanda
SAR Saudi Arabia
USD Saudi Arabia
SBD Solomon Islands
SCR Seychelles
EUR Sweden
SEK Sweden
SGD Singapore
USD Singapore
EUR Slovenia
EUR Slovakia
EUR San Marino
XOF Senegal
SRD Suriname
USD El Salvador
SZL Eswatini
XAF Chad
XOF Togo
THB Thailand
USD Thailand
TJS Tajikistan
EUR Tajikistan
USD Tajikistan
USD Timor-Leste
TMT Turkmenistan
TOP Tonga
TRY Turkey
USD Turkey
TTD Trinidad and Tobago
TZS Tanzania
EUR Ukraine
UAH Ukraine
USD Ukraine
UGX Uganda
USD United States of America
UYU Uruguay
UZS Uzbekistan
EUR Uzbekistan
USD Uzbekistan
EUR Vatican City
XCD Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
USD Virgin Islands, British
VND Vietnam
VUV Vanuatu
WST Samoa
EUR Kosovo
ZAR South Africa
ZMW Zambia
This amount placeholder is shown due to an error in the calculator.
Sign up
Sign up to create an account and proceed in a new tab.

Delivered in minutes

Recently moved to the UK? Chances are you’re doing your research into everything from healthcare to driving licences. And, if one of the things you might be curious to know about is the UK state pension, you’ve come to the right page.

Whether retirement is a long way off or you’re approaching that time in your life, it’s never too soon to arm yourself with the knowledge. What is the UK state pension anyway? How much are you entitled to? When can you get it? And how do you claim it?

Our quick guide to the UK state pension tells you everything you need to know.

What is the UK state pension?

The UK state pension is a regular payment from the government once you reach a certain age. Most people are entitled to claim when they reach the state pension age—in recent years, this has changed significantly due to increased life expectancies, and looks set to undergo more changes in coming years. At the moment, men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953 can claim.

In addition to the UK state pension, anybody who reaches the criteria can apply for a bus pass for free travel. If you live in London, you can access free travel on buses, tubes and other transport from the age of 60. The same applies if you live in Wales. 

How much are you entitled to?

The amount of UK state pension you can receive depends on how many ‘qualifying’ years of National Insurance payments you have. This includes both the National Insurance Contributions (NIC) you’ve made while working and any credited contributions as a result of being unable to work. The most you can currently claim on the basic state pension is £137.60 per week (£7,155 a year).

The basic state pension increases every year by whichever is the highest of the following:

  • Prices—the percentage of UK price growth as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
  • Earnings—the average percentage growth in wages in Great Britain
  • 2.5% 

The UK government website has a handy state pension forecast tool, which allows you to work out how much state pension you can get. 

Can I claim UK state pension payments as a migrant?

As a migrant, you can only claim UK state pension payments if you have either paid or been credited with UK National Insurance contributions. If you have, you should be able to claim for the benefit as soon as you reach the state pension age.

Even if you choose to retire outside of the UK, you will still be eligible to receive the state pension. However, this won’t be paid to you automatically—you will have to claim it. Instructions for how to do so should be mailed to you four months before you reach the state pension age. Alternatively, you can scroll down to the bottom of this page to find out today.

Does Brexit impact UK state pension eligibility?

Ah, now. This is where things get a little complex. When the UK officially left the European Union on 31 January 2020, the EU law no longer applied to the UK. This included legislation surrounding pension eligibility. If you reached the UK state pension age before 31 December 2020, your rights were unaffected. But chances are—since you’re reading this article—you’re not yet at retirement age.

So what does this mean for you? If you have already paid National Insurance contributions before 31 December 2020, then you will be able to access the ‘aggregation principle under the UK’s EU withdrawal agreement. 

To quickly sum up, this means that if you’ll have a minimum of 10 years of contributions across the UK and EEA member states then you will be eligible for some UK state pension payments. Again, this will be based on the actual years of contributions in the UK.

If you’ve just moved to the UK and your first NIC contributions date after 31st December 2020, you should still be able to benefit from the ‘aggregation’ principle. This should be in place at least until the end of 2035. To err on the side of caution, we recommend obtaining a statement of proof of NIC contributions and keeping it for your records. This can be accessed through your Personal Tax Account

Do you have to pay tax on your UK state pension?

The UK state pension is paid gross (without tax deductions)—however, it still counts as taxable income in the UK. Whether or not you have to pay tax on it depends on:

  • How much taxable income you have
  • Whether or not you’re a UK resident

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group has a handy guide to what constitutes taxable and non-taxable income. To quickly summarise, you’ll likely have to pay tax on any taxable income that exceeds your personal allowance. This includes your UK state pension.

If you’re not a resident in the UK, you may not have to pay UK tax on your state pension. However, you may have to pay tax on it in the country you live in. Sometimes, you might have to pay both UK tax and the tax in the country you live in. 

Can you continue to work after you reach the UK state pension age?

Yes, of course! Just because you reach the state pension age doesn’t mean you have to stop working. You can continue to work for as long you like. If you choose to do so, you will no longer have to pay National Insurance contributions. You can also request flexible working arrangements if full-time hours will be too much for you at that point.

How do you claim state pension payments?

As mentioned above, you do not receive UK state pension payments automatically. You have to physically claim them yourself. There are three ways to do this:

Can you increase your state pension payments?

Yes! If you’re not eligible to receive the full £137.60 (or however much it’ll be at the point you wish to claim) or you want to receive more than this, you can increase your basic state pension payments. To achieve the full basic state pension allowance, you will have to have made at least 30 years of National Insurance contributions.

If there are gaps in your payments, you can choose to make voluntary NIC payments to increase your pension. You can also choose to defer your state pension, which could increase your payments by as much as 1% for every five weeks you defer. The extra amount you receive is paid with your regular state pension and can be claimed on top of the basic state pension amount.

You can also increase your basic state pension if you are married or in a civil partnership. You can check if you qualify for this on this state pension eligibility page.

Finally, your state pension allowance can also be increased by the Additional State Pension and Pension Credit if you’re on a low income. The latter also entitles you to further benefits including council tax reductions, heating cost assistance and housing benefits if you’re renting. The basic State Pension page on the Government website has more information on this.

______________

And from now until State Pension age and beyond, TransferGo is here to help you send money home. Sign up here for easy and affordable online money transfers.

About the author

jennifertate

Jennifer Tate

Jennifer Tate is a freelance copywriter and content manager based in Newcastle upon Tyne with over 15 years of experience in creating SEO copy and content for both leading brands and independent start-ups. Working across a variety of sectors from fintech to fashion and healthcare to homeware, Jennifer specialises in content creation, content management and social media strategies and has worked with TransferGo since 2017. As well as TransferGo, Jennifer has also recently created copy and content for Charlotte Tilbury, carecircle, Tommee Tippee and Robinson Pelham.

Invite friends to TransferGo, earn £20