Six things you might not know about the State Pension

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We’re looking at six State Pension facts you might not know – but that are worth learning.

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Before we start, keep in mind that how much State Pension you get, and whether you are eligible to receive it, depends on how many ‘qualifying years’ you have on your National Insurance (NI) record. 

A qualifying year is a tax year in which you were working and paying NI contributions. Or one in which you were receiving NI ‘credits’, which you usually get if you’re on particular benefits.

Some people pay voluntary NI contributions, where they essentially buy a qualifying year.

You can read more about how many qualifying years you need on GOV.UK.

1. You could be owed £1,000s due to an HMRC administration error

If you took time off work between 1978 and 2010 to look after children or care for a sick or disabled person, you could’ve been entitled to something called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP). This should’ve gone on your NI record so that those years would still count towards your State Pension. 

Due to an HMRC administration error, though, not everyone who was supposed to get HRP did. 
But there are things you can do:

• Check your State Pension forecast to see if you’re on track for the full State Pension. If you’re already receiving your State Pension, you can contact the Pension Service (if you’re in the UK) or the International Pension Centre (if you’re abroad).
• If you’re not receiving the full State Pension or your forecast shows you’re not on track, check your NI record. If it shows gaps for the years we mentioned, and you were off work to look after someone during that time, that might be the result of an error.
• If you think you should’ve been getting HRP, you can apply for it. Find out who could be eligible and how to claim on GOV.UK. 

If you’re already getting the State Pension, you might be owed thousands of pounds in backpayments. And if you’re not getting it yet, applying for HRP could really make a difference to how much you get in future.

2. NI credits can be transferred to others

Are you someone who’s claiming Child Benefit? You’ll normally receive NI credits automatically. If you’re working while claiming it, you might get more NI credits than you need (because you’ll be making NI contributions too if you’re earning enough through work). You may be able to transfer the credits to your partner if it’d be more useful for them – for example, if they’re on a low income and not paying NI contributions.

Or you may be able to transfer credits to someone else in your family, if they look after your child or have done in the past. These are Specified Adult Childcare Credits. Some people call them “grandparents’ childcare credits” as that’s who often gets them, but it can be other relatives. Your family member needs to meet certain criteria. For example, they’ll need to have been between 16 and their State Pension age when they took care of your child. And your child needs to have been under the age of 12 at the time. Claims can be backdated to 2011.

If the family member has gaps in their NI record, this could potentially boost their State Pension by hundreds or thousands of pounds. 

If you’re the one who’s taken care of a relative’s child, it could be worth looking into this.

One final thing on this. Some people effectively lose their Child Benefit if they earn over a particular amount. But it’s still worth claiming it if you’re eligible, as you can still get the NI credits.

3. You may be able to increase your State Pension

Still got gaps in your NI record? If you’re not getting, or not on course to get, the full State Pension, there may be things you can do.

NI credits are usually given automatically, but it’s worth checking whether there are any you haven’t received that you’d be eligible to apply for. If you’re successful, you could plug gaps in your NI record for free. Some claims can be backdated.

If not, you could consider plugging gaps by making voluntary NI contributions, if you don’t think you can fill them in any other way (e.g. through work). You can usually pay to plug gaps from the last six tax years. You’ll need to think carefully, as it’s not right for everyone’s circumstances. To find out more, MoneyHelper is a good starting point. 

4. Your State Pension can be subject to income tax

The State Pension counts as income, so you could have income tax to pay on it.

But most people are allowed to have £12,570 of income in a tax year without needing to pay tax on it, known as the personal allowance.

Now, the full new State Pension is £11,973 a year. So if that’s your only income, it’ll be covered by your personal allowance. 

If you’re getting money from other income sources too, like a pension plan, you might go over your personal allowance. You’d owe tax on anything above it. The tax won’t be taken off your State Pension directly; it’s normally deducted from your other income.

5. The State Pension age is due to rise over the next few years

People can currently claim the new State Pension from 66, but the State Pension age is due to rise to 67 by 2028. Check your own State Pension age on GOV.UK.

6. The State Pension can be deferred or paused

You can delay getting your State Pension, also known as deferring. Doing this means you’ll usually get bigger payments when you eventually do come to claim it.

Some people defer it until they’ve stopped working so that they don’t end up paying tax on both their salary and State Pension. 

If you’re already getting your State Pension, you may be able to pause it once and restart it later.

Deferring or pausing won’t be right for everyone and there are a few things to consider. To find out how to defer and what you need to think about, you can visit MoneyHelper. 

 

The information here is based on our understanding in August 2025 and shouldn’t be taken as financial advice.

Your own personal circumstances, including where you live in the UK, will have an impact on the tax you pay. Laws and tax rules may change in the future.