How much is the full State Pension?

The full rate of the new State Pension is £241.30 a week for 2026 to 2027. You need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record for it, and 10 for any pension. Below 35, each year adds a 35th of the full rate, about £6.89 a week.

Can I retire early and still get the full State Pension?

Only if your record reaches 35 qualifying years. National Insurance stops when your pay does, so stopping work at 50 leaves years before State Pension age that count for nothing unless you get National Insurance credits or pay voluntary contributions. The calculator shows how many years you would have, the gap, and what filling it with Class 3 would cost.

When do I get the State Pension if I stop work early?

Stopping work does not change the age it starts: that comes from your date of birth. Someone who stops work at 50 and has State Pension age at 67 or 68 has years to pay for from their own savings. The calculator prices that bridge.

Where do I find my own State Pension forecast?

The government's check your State Pension forecast service shows your qualifying years, your State Pension age and an estimate of your pension. Use its figure rather than this page's when you have it: a record that began before April 2016 can pay more or less than the proportion shown here because of the starting amount and contracted-out years.

UK State Pension calculator, for retiring early

See your State Pension a week from the qualifying years on your record, the age it starts, and how much it takes off the pot you need to stop work early.

Figures in pounds (£), from GOV.UK. This is the new State Pension, for people who reach State Pension age from 6 April 2016.

Born 15 June 1990, stopping work at 50 with 14 years of National Insurance by then (0 years on your record now and 14 years from work until you stop), your State Pension from 68 is about

£96.52 a week

That is £5,019 a year, 40% of the full rate, in today's pounds. You reach State Pension age on 15 June 2058.

Enter the qualifying years on your record from your State Pension forecast. Until you do, only the years you work from now until you stop are counted, which can understate your pension.

Counting the State Pension, the pot you need to stop work at 50 on £30,000 a year is

£686,128

The State Pension takes £63,872 off the pot: without it you would need £750,000.

State Pension age: 68; 18 years after you stop.
Qualifying years at State Pension age: 14 of 35; 14 years when you stop (0 years on your record, 14 years more from work).
Years short of 35 when you stop: 21; 18 years lie between stopping work and State Pension age.
Bridge to State Pension (18 years): £61,604
For good: spending the pension never covers: £624,524

Day you were bornFrom 1 to 31.Month you were born1 for January. From 1 to 12.Year you were bornFrom 1960 to 2010.

Your age nowWhole years. Your date of birth sets State Pension age; this sets how many years you still work before you stop. From 18 to 66.Age you stop workEach year you work until then counts as a qualifying year. From 30 to 70.Qualifying years on your record nowFrom your State Pension forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension. Leave at 0 if you do not know yet.Class 3 years you would pay for after you stopYears after you stop work that you would fill with voluntary Class 3 contributions, each paid once that year has passed. Counted only up to the years missing from 35.Yearly spending once you stopIn today's pounds. From 1,000 to 1,000,000.£Return above inflation, %Your assumption. It prices the years before the pension starts and the pot that lasts to 100. Not a forecast. From 0 to 10, up to 2 decimal places.Withdrawal rate, %The share of the pot you take each year. 4% is the common rule, from Bengen (1994), a study of US market history. From 2 to 10, up to 2 decimal places.

The years after you stop work

National Insurance stops when the pay does, so each year without it can leave a gap in your record. A voluntary Class 3 contribution fills a gap in a year that has already gone: it can only be paid for the past 6 years, so a year after you stop work is paid for later, not in advance. It costs £18.40 a week, £956.80 for a year of 52 weeks.

While your record is between 10 years and 35 years, each year paid adds £6.89 a week to the pension, £358.50 a year. Set against the cost, that is about 2.7 years of pension for each year paid, before tax and only once the pension starts.

It does not help every record (for example if you were contracted out), and you may be able to get National Insurance credits for some years without paying. Check your own forecast and National Insurance record at gov.uk before paying anything.

Up to 18 years of the years between stopping and State Pension age could be filled this way, each once it has passed. Filling all of them would cost £17,222.40 in all and add £124.10 a week.

The new State Pension by qualifying years, at the 2026 to 2027 full rate of £241.30 a week.
Qualifying years	A week	A year
10	£68.94	£3,585
15	£103.41	£5,378
20	£137.89	£7,170
25	£172.36	£8,963
30	£206.83	£10,755
35	£241.30	£12,548

The pension is shown flat in today's pounds: that assumes it keeps pace with prices, which the triple lock aims for but does not promise. Not modelled: the starting amount and contracted-out deduction for a record that began before April 2016, Pension Credit, deferring your pension, tax, and start dates between birthdays. Your own forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension is the figure to trust. The link carries your figures after the #, so you can save or share it. Your figures are not sent to us.

What the pension pays, and how many years it takes

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week for 2026 to 2027. It takes 35 qualifying years. You need 10 for any pension. A qualifying year is one in which you worked and paid National Insurance, got National Insurance credits, or paid voluntary contributions.

Below 35 years the pension is a 35th of the full rate for each year, about £6.89 a week. If your record began before April 2016, or you were contracted out, your pension can differ from that. The calculator does not model it: your own forecast does.

State Pension age depends on when you were born

State Pension age is the earliest age you can claim, and it is not the age you can reach a workplace or personal pension. The legislated timetable is below. Anyone born from the date in the last row is on that row.

State Pension age by date of birth, men and women.
Date of birth	State Pension age
Born 6 October 1954 to 5 April 1960	66
Born 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961	66 and 1 to 11 months
Born 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977	67
Born 6 April 1977 to 5 April 1978	Reached between 6 May 2044 and 6 March 2046, by birth month
Born from 6 April 1978	68

The government launched its third review of State Pension age in July 2025. The ages above are the law as it stands, and the timetable itself says the rise from 67 to 68 could change after a review. If you are young enough to be on the last row, treat that age as a planning assumption, not a promise.

Stopping work early leaves years without National Insurance

Someone who stops work at 50 and reaches State Pension age at 67 or 68 has many years with no pay and so no National Insurance. Those years do not count toward the 35 unless something else fills them, such as National Insurance credits, if you qualify for them, or voluntary contributions.

Class 3 contributions are £18.40 a week for 2026 to 2027. You can only pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 years; the deadline is 5 April each year. They do not always increase your pension, for example if you were contracted out, so check your forecast and your record before you pay. This page counts a Class 3 year as adding a 35th of the full rate while your record is below 35 years.

The new State Pension rises each year by the highest of earnings growth, prices or 2.5%. The calculator holds it flat in today's pounds, which assumes it keeps up with prices at least. That is the assumption, and it is the same one the rest of the site makes.

Questions people ask

How much is the full State Pension?: The full rate of the new State Pension is £241.30 a week for 2026 to 2027. You need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record for it, and 10 for any pension. Below 35, each year adds a 35th of the full rate, about £6.89 a week.
Can I retire early and still get the full State Pension?: Only if your record reaches 35 qualifying years. National Insurance stops when your pay does, so stopping work at 50 leaves years before State Pension age that count for nothing unless you get National Insurance credits or pay voluntary contributions. The calculator shows how many years you would have, the gap, and what filling it with Class 3 would cost.
When do I get the State Pension if I stop work early?: Stopping work does not change the age it starts: that comes from your date of birth. Someone who stops work at 50 and has State Pension age at 67 or 68 has years to pay for from their own savings. The calculator prices that bridge.
Where do I find my own State Pension forecast?: The government's check your State Pension forecast service shows your qualifying years, your State Pension age and an estimate of your pension. Use its figure rather than this page's when you have it: a record that began before April 2016 can pay more or less than the proportion shown here because of the starting amount and contracted-out years.

Sources: GOV.UK, the new State Pension: what you'll get, eligibility, your new State Pension explained, the State Pension age timetable, the third State Pension age review, voluntary National Insurance rates and deadlines. Your own figure is in check your State Pension forecast.