The State Pension
What it pays, when you get it, what it costs — and why it is not one universal amount.
There is no single State Pension amount
What someone receives depends on their National Insurance record and on whether they reached State Pension age before or after April 2016, when the new State Pension replaced the old system. Two people the same age can receive very different amounts.
£241.30
Full new State Pension, per week
Not the same as: What most pensioners receive. This is the FULL rate — £12,547.60 a year — and requires a complete National Insurance record.
£184.90
Full basic State Pension, per week
Not the same as: The whole income of everyone on the old system — £9,614.80 a year, before additional State Pension and other entitlements.
State Pension age is not simply “67”
It is rising from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028, and the exact date depends on date of birth. Under current legislation it rises again from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046. A third statutory review is under way, so proposals and current law must not be read as the same thing.
Check your own date at GOV.UK State Pension age.
The largest single item in the welfare budget
£146.1bn
State Pension expenditure
Not the same as: All pensioner spending, which is larger.
£177.7bn
All pensioner benefits
Not the same as: The State Pension alone. It also includes Pension Credit, pension-age housing support and disability benefits paid to pensioners.
£322.6bn
Total social security spending
Not the same as: A UK figure — this is Great Britain. Northern Ireland administers its own system.
- State Pension — £146.1bnThe single largest item in the welfare budget
- Other pensioner benefits — £31.6bnPension Credit, pension-age housing support and disability benefits paid to pensioners
- Working-age and children — £144.9bnEverything else, including in-work support
That total is 10.6% of GDP and 23.6% of all government spending — and the State Pension is nearly half of it. Any conversation about “the benefits bill” that does not mention pensions is discussing a minority of the money.
Compared with Europe — carefully
Comparing weekly cash amounts across countries is meaningless, because pension systems are built differently. The OECD instead models what share of a worker’s net pay their pension replaces. That figure includes mandatory private and occupational schemes, not just the state pension.
- Netherlands96%age 70
- Spain86.3%age 65
- Italy79%age 70
- France70%age 65
- EU27 average68.3%age 66.7
- Sweden66.3%age 70
- United Kingdom54.2%age 68
- Germany53.3%age 67
- Poland40.6%age 65
- Ireland33.7%age 66
OECD Pensions at a Glance 2025. Models a hypothetical full-career worker entering the labour market, including mandatory public and private provision.
Correct reading:under OECD modelling, the UK’s mandatory pension system replaces a smaller share of an average earner’s net pay than the EU27 average.
Incorrect reading:“the UK State Pension replaces 54.2% of pay”. It does not — that figure includes workplace pensions. The Netherlands’ 96% is mostly occupational, not state.
A second trap.Eurostat reports EU countries spending 12.3% of GDP on the broad “pensions” social-protection function. That is not comparable with the UK State Pension figure of around 5% of GDP, because it covers far more. Comparing the two makes Britain look like an outlier when the measures simply differ.
Claim checks
“My National Insurance contributions are saved in a personal pension pot for me”
IncorrectWhat is known: National Insurance records determine entitlement — how many qualifying years you have. But contributions are not invested in an individual account. Today's contributions and other revenue largely fund today's pensions.
What would change this verdict: Evidence of individually held, invested NI accounts. The system has never worked that way.
“The triple lock guarantees pensioners always beat inflation”
Missing contextWhat is known: The rate rises by the highest of earnings growth, CPI inflation or 2.5%, using specified measurement periods. Over time this generally raises the pension faster than prices.
What is not known: Whether it matches any individual's living costs. CPI is an average basket; pensioner spending differs. The rule also does not cover other pensioner benefits.
“UK pensions are the worst in Europe”
UnverifiableWhat is known: On OECD modelled replacement rates the UK is below the EU27 average and below France, Italy and Spain — but above Germany, Poland and Ireland.
What is not known: Which measure is meant. The ranking changes completely depending on whether you use the flat-rate public pension, total mandatory replacement, pension wealth, spending as a share of GDP, pension age, or pensioner poverty after housing costs.
What would change this verdict: Naming a specific measure. Without one the claim cannot be true or false.
A note on geography
State Pension policy is reserved. DWP administers it in Great Britain; the Department for Communities does so in Northern Ireland. DWP spending tables labelled Great Britain are relabelled “UK” in coverage more often than any other statistic on this site. They are not the same, and this page keeps the distinction on every figure.
Related: pensions and an ageing Britain for the demographic pressure, how the National Insurance Fund actually works, what the triple lock has really cost year by year, and whether pensioners are doing OK; the benefits system, of which this is the largest part; and public finances for how it sits against other spending.