Important notes
It is important that you read this leaflet in full to see whether you need to take any action to make sure that you will be entitled to the full basic State Pension when you reach State Pension age. Taking action now could also mean that you build up entitlement to additional State Pension from 6 April 2002.
Some people do not get a full basic State Pension because they do not have enough of the qualifying years needed for a full basic State Pension. If you retire with less than a quarter (25%) of the qualifying years for a full State Pension, you won’t get any basic State Pension. You will also not be entitled to any refund of your National Insurance contributions, because contributions cover other areas of insurance (for example, sickness and unemployment) as well as the State Pension.
People who do not qualify for the full basic State Pension, but who have more than 25% of the qualifying years, will get a basic State Pension between the minimum (£19.90 for men or £20.41 a week for women in 2004/05) and the maximum (£79.60 a week in 2004/05).
You may need to make a claim for Home Responsibilities Protection, and there are time limits for claiming. If you are going to claim, you should make sure you do so within the time limits.
When can I get my State Pension?
You can start receiving your State Pension when you reach State Pension age. You must make a claim for State Pension. At the moment, women can get their State Pension at 60 and men can get it at 65. From 6 April 2020, the State Pension age for both men and women will be 65. The Government will introduce the change from age 60 to 65 for women gradually over the 10 years from 2010 to 2020. There will be no change for men. If you want to know more about changes to State Pension age, please see Pensions for women – Your guide (PM6). See Other guides in the series for details about how to get a copy of this guide.
The basic State Pension
The amount of basic State Pension that people receive can vary, and you may not necessarily be entitled to the full amount when you reach State Pension age. This is because entitlement to the basic State Pension is built up over your working life, and you may not always be in paid work. However, certain benefits and schemes can help you protect or build up entitlement when you are not working or your earnings are low (below £4,108 in 2004/05). So if you are taking time out of paid work or your earnings are low (less than £4,108 in 2004/05) and you are looking after children or caring for an adult, you need to make sure that you are taking the correct action now to get as much State Pension as you can when you reach State Pension age.
The following information gives you details about when you can get the basic State Pension and how it is built up.
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