Full New State Pension: Discover How Many Years You Need to Work to Qualify for Payments

According to the Department for Work and Pensions' latest figures, approximately 12.7 million senior citizens nationwide currently receive a regular financial income from the State Pension.

This payment is accessible to people who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is currently 66 for genders, and have settled at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance contributions.

Workplace and private pensions will support the State Pension in retirement, however, many individuals may be counting on this contributory benefit as their main income in retirement, so it’s important to be aware of the number of years required to make NI contributions in order to maximize the payout.

The State Pension age is expected to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 with an additional increase to 68 planned for the mid-2040’s.

If you are concerned about how many years you'll need to work, whether retirement is far off, or just around the corner — our helpful guide below will clarify how National Insurance contributions influence the amount of State Pension you will receive.

How to Receive Any New State Pension Payment

A minimum of 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record is required to be eligible for any State Pension, but they don’t need to be 10 consecutive qualifying years.

This implies that for a period of 10 years, at least one or more of these conditions applied to you:

You were employed and paid National Insurance contributions.
You were in receipt of National Insurance credits, for instance if you were unemployed, ill, a parent or a caregiver.
You were making voluntarily contributions to National Insurance.

You may still be able to receive some New State Pension if you have lived or worked overseas.

You might also be eligible if you have settled married women’s or widow’s reduced rate contributions — more details about this are available on the GOV.UK website here.

How to unlock Full New State Pension Payments

What is meant by the term 'full' is the maximal amount of New State Pension someone can receive.

Around 35 qualifying years will be required to unlock the full New State Pension if you have no National Insurance record before 6 April 2016 — this may increase if you were 'contracted out'.

For individuals who have contributed between 10 and 35 years, they can get a portion of the new State Pension, but not the full amount unless they purchase additional National Insurance years.

Qualifying Years if You Are Employed

When you are employed, you pay National Insurance and get a qualifying year if:

You work and receive more than £242 a week from a single employer.
You work for yourself and pay NI contributions.

Qualifying Years if You Are Not Working

If you can't work due to an illness or disability, or because you're a carer, or you’re unemployed, you may still get National Insurance credits.

You can be eligible for National Insurance credits if you:

Claim Child Benefit for a child under the age of 12 (or under 16 before 2010).
Receive Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.
Get Carer’s Allowance.

If You Are Not Working or Receiving National Insurance Credits

You can still be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you’re not in one of these groups but want to rise your State Pension amount. For more details, visit the GOV.UK website here.

If There Are Gaps in Your National Insurance Record

You can have gaps in your NI record and still receive the full New State Pension. A State Pension statement will show you how much State Pension you might get. You can also request a National Insurance statement from HMRC to check for any gaps.

If there are gaps that might prevent you from getting the full New State Pension, you may be able to: