Full new State Pension (2026/27)
£241.30/wk
UK Retirement · Sourced from DWP · HMRC · MoneyHelper · FCA
UK · 2026/27 Updated 2026-07-28 Free · No sign-up
What will your UK pension be?
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the full new State Pension is £241.30 a week (£12,547.60 a year) in 2026/27, requiring 35 qualifying National Insurance years for the full rate. This free calculator projects your State Pension, workplace Defined Contribution pot, and SIPP balance in plain English, with every rule and rate quoted directly from DWP, HMRC, MoneyHelper, and the FCA.
Annual Allowance
£60,000
NI years for full SP
35
Triple-lock uprate
4.8%
Full New State Pension weekly rate since 2016
Confirmed full-rate amount by tax year
The confirmed full weekly rate is £241.30 in 2026/27. A person's payment can differ because their National Insurance record and pre-2016 history still apply.
Source: DWP New State Pension rate history · As of 2026-07-28
Year-on-year change in the full weekly rate
Calculated from adjacent confirmed DWP rates
The rate of change varies from year to year. The 2022/23 rise was a CPI-linked statutory increase while the triple lock was suspended.
Source: DWP New State Pension rate history · As of 2026-07-28 · Adjacent weekly rates compared and rounded to one decimal place.
The second read
A higher weekly rate does not mean a larger annual rise
The current full rate is the series high at £241.30 a week, but its 4.8% movement is below the 10.1% peak in 2023/24. Each point pairs one confirmed DWP weekly rate with the change from the preceding record.
Lower rate · faster change
- 2020/21 £175.20 · 3.9%
Higher rate · faster change
- 2023/24 £203.85 · 10.1%
- 2024/25 £221.20 · 8.5%
- 2025/26 £230.25 · 4.1%
- 2026/27 · current £241.30 · 4.8%
Lower rate · slower change
- 2017/18 £159.55 · 2.5%
- 2018/19 £164.35 · 3.0%
- 2019/20 £168.60 · 2.6%
- 2021/22 £179.60 · 2.5%
Higher rate · slower change
- 2022/23 £185.15 · 3.1%
Quadrants split at the series medians: £182.38 a week and 3.5% movement. The 2022/23 point is a rate change, not a triple-lock uprate.
Read every plotted value
| Tax year | Full weekly rate | Change from preceding rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | £159.55 | 2.5% |
| 2018/19 | £164.35 | 3.0% |
| 2019/20 | £168.60 | 2.6% |
| 2020/21 | £175.20 | 3.9% |
| 2021/22 | £179.60 | 2.5% |
| 2022/23 | £185.15 | 3.1% |
| 2023/24 | £203.85 | 10.1% |
| 2024/25 | £221.20 | 8.5% |
| 2025/26 | £230.25 | 4.1% |
| 2026/27 · current | £241.30 | 4.8% |
Source: DWP New State Pension rate history · Data reviewed 2026-07-28 · Percentage movements calculated from adjacent confirmed weekly rates and rounded to one decimal place.
The bottom line
The full New State Pension is £12,547.60 a year in 2026/27 - roughly half what a full-time worker on the Real Living Wage earns. It is the foundation of UK retirement income, not the whole of it: your workplace pension and any SIPP have to close the gap.
- Full State Pension
- £241.30/wk
- NI years for the full rate
- 35
- Annual Allowance
- £60,000
- Min access age
- 55 → 57 (2028)
Figures sourced from the DWP and HMRC for the current tax year, see the methodology page.
Plan your retirement in plain English
Four tools that explain UK pensions the way a friend who has read every page of gov.uk would explain them.
Pension Calculator
Enter year of birth, salary, and contribution split, project your State Pension, workplace DC pot, and SIPP balance for 2026/27, with the reasoning behind every figure.
Compare Pension Types
Side-by-side State / Workplace DC / Workplace DB / SIPP / Stakeholder: tax relief, access age, employer match, FSCS protection.
Pension Guides
Plain-English long-reads, qualifying years, auto-enrolment, drawdown vs annuity, DB transfers, voluntary NI top-ups.
Methodology
How we source every rate and rule from DWP, HMRC, MoneyHelper, and the FCA, and our refresh schedule.
UK pension wrappers at a glance
| Wrapper | Annual Allowance | Tax-free lump sum | Min access age |
|---|---|---|---|
| New State Pension | - | - | 66 |
| Workplace Defined Contribution pension | £60,000 | 25% | 55 |
| Workplace Defined Benefit pension | £60,000 | 25% | 55 |
| Self-Invested Personal Pension | £60,000 | 25% | 55 |
| Stakeholder Pension | £60,000 | 25% | 55 |
Data: DWP, HMRC, MoneyHelper, FCA. Last reviewed 2026-07-28.
Where to start
Three steps cover most of UK pension planning, in order of return:
- Project your numbers, see your State Pension, workplace pot and SIPP to State Pension Age. Open the calculator
- Capture the employer match first, auto-enrolment is the highest-return account most people have. Read the guide
- Check your National Insurance record for gaps before topping up voluntarily. See the break-even
General information, not financial advice. Confirm figures against gov.uk or an FCA-regulated adviser.
About this data
Where every pension figure on this site comes from
What PlainPension covers
PlainPension is a free UK pension calculator and plain-language summary of official pension data. Every rate, allowance, and rule shown, State Pension, Annual Allowance, auto-enrolment minimums, is sourced from the DWP, HMRC, MoneyHelper, or the FCA, with the effective-from date carried through to the page.
How a figure reaches this page
- Read the statutory source. State Pension rates come from the DWP, Annual Allowance and tax-relief rules from HMRC, pensions guidance from MoneyHelper, and the regulated-provider register from the FCA.
- Carry the effective-from date. Every rate and threshold keeps the effective-from date set by the source publication, applied from the legal effective date, not the date PlainPension noticed the change.
- Translate without changing the figure. Each statutory figure is paired with a plain-English explanation of what it means for a typical saver, while the underlying number stays exactly as the source states it.
Independence, and fixing a mistake
PlainPension is an independent data-journalism publisher; it accepts no payment, sponsorship, referral fee, or affiliate revenue from any pension provider, asset manager, or adviser it covers. Found an error? Email hello@plainpension.co.uk with the page URL and the source you believe is correct; we aim to respond within 72 hours. See our about page for the full corrections policy and five-point editorial standard.
Pension questions we get asked
What does PlainPension do?
PlainPension gives you a free interactive UK pension calculator for the 2026/27 tax year, a plain-language summary of DWP, HMRC, and MoneyHelper figures. Enter your year of birth, salary, NI record, and contribution split, the calculator projects your State Pension entitlement at retirement age, your workplace Defined Contribution pot under employer-match plus tax relief, and (where applicable) your SIPP top-up balance year by year, with the reasoning shown line by line. This is general information, not a personalised recommendation, for a tailored view of your own pension mix, use the free MoneyHelper Pension Wise service or an FCA-regulated adviser.
How much is the full New State Pension in 2026/27?
For the 2026/27 tax year (effective 2026-04-06), the full new State Pension is £241.30 per week, which works out to £12,547.60 per year. The uprating from 2025/26 reflects the triple-lock formula (the higher of CPI, earnings growth, or 2.5%). To receive the full amount, you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. You need a minimum of 10 qualifying years to receive any State Pension at all. The actual amount you get is your share of 35 - so 30 years gets you 30/35 of the full rate.
What is the pension Annual Allowance in 2026/27?
The standard pension Annual Allowance for 2026/27 is £60,000. This is the maximum you and your employer can contribute to all your pensions in one tax year while still receiving tax relief at your marginal rate. Above the allowance you owe an Annual Allowance Charge at your marginal income-tax rate on the excess. The allowance tapers down by £1 for every £2 of "adjusted income" above £260,000, all the way down to a floor of £10,000 for the highest earners. If you have already flexibly accessed a Defined Contribution pension, the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) of £10,000 replaces the standard allowance for further DC contributions.
Workplace pension or SIPP, which is right for me?
For nearly every employee in the UK, the workplace pension comes first. The reason is the employer match. Under auto-enrolment, your employer must contribute a minimum of 3% of qualifying earnings while you contribute 5%. The employer contribution is free money: you cannot replicate it inside a SIPP. Most workers should fully capture the workplace employer match before opening a SIPP. SIPPs make sense after the match is maxed (especially for higher-rate taxpayers consolidating multiple old workplace pots into one investment-flexible wrapper), for the self-employed (who have no workplace scheme), and for anyone wanting investment choice well beyond the workplace default fund. The calculator quantifies the trade-off using your specific salary, employer scheme, and tax band, so you can see the numbers rather than a decision made for you.