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Can I get a State Pension statement online?

Are you wondering whether you can get a State Pension statement online? We take a look at how you can access your statement to confirm how much you’ll get.

Sean LaPointe
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If you are nearing retirement and entitled to a State Pension, you might be wondering how much exactly you will receive. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to find out. You can apply for a State Pension forecast statement online.

The statement will show you an estimate of the State Pension you could get when you reach your State Pension age so that you can plan appropriately.

Here is everything you need to know.

How much is the State Pension?

The UK State Pension is divided into two. There is the new State Pension and the basic State Pension.

Men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953 can claim the new State Pension. The full amount of the new State Pension is £179.60 per week. To get this full amount, you will need to have made 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.

Both men and women who reached the State Pension age before 6 April 2016 can claim the old State Pension, known as the basic State Pension. The full basic State Pension is worth £137.60 per week. To get the full basic state pension, you will need to have made 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.

You could also be eligible for additional State Pension, which is an extra amount of money you could get on top of your basic State Pension.

How do I get a State Pension statement online?

If you are retiring soon, you can request a State Pension statement online for an estimate.

This can be done through the ‘Check your State Pension Forecast’ service on the gov.uk website.

The pension forecast statement will show you:

  • How much State Pension you are likely to get
  • When you will be able to claim it
  • How to increase the amount you will get (for example, by making voluntary National Insurance contributions)

To get the statement, you will need to log in using your official government login details. You can use either the Government Gateway user ID or a gov.uk Verify account. Once you have logged in, you might be asked some additional questions to verify your identity.

A pension forecast statement will then be generated automatically for you.

Who can use this online service?

The service is available to anyone in the UK who is over 16, who has a UK National Insurance number and who has more than 30 days until they reach State Pension age.

You can’t use the service if you are already receiving State Pension or if you have deferred your pension. However, you can still get information on your State Pension if you are in this situation by phoning the Pension Service, or by contacting the International Pension Centre if you live abroad.

Is the online State Pension statement accurate?

The pension forecast statement is only an estimate and might not truly reflect what you will actually get.

If you think your pension statement is inaccurate or if you run into problems when trying to get it, it might be worth giving the Future Pension Centre a ring on 0800 731 0175 to establish what the problem is.

Keep in mind that phone lines may be busier than usual at the moment due to the pandemic.

What other ways can I get a State Pension statement?

Apart from finding out online, you can also get a pension forecast statement either by phoning or texting the Future Pension Centre or text or by filling out a BR19 application form and sending it by post.

You should get your statement within 10 working days.