Women and state pensions

When can women get their State Pension?

At the moment women can get their State Pension at the age of 60 and men can get their State Pension at the age of 65. From 6 April 2020 the State Pension age for both men and women will be 65. The Government will introduce the change gradually over the 10-year period from 2010 to 2020 for women.

When will I get my State Pension?

• If you are a woman born on or before 5 April 1950, you will not be affected by this change. So you will be able to claim your State Pension at 60.
• If you are a woman born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1955, your State Pension age will be between 60 and 65.To find out your State Pension age and the date you will reach it, see the insert with this guide or visit our website at www.pensionguide.gov.uk
• If you are a woman born on or after 6 April 1955, you can claim your State Pension at the age of 65.
• This change does not affect men. If you would like to see the full changes to the law, they are set out in the Pensions Act 1995. You can buy a copy from The Stationery Office (TSO) bookshops.

What other things are changing as a result of this?

• The present arrangement which allows a married woman to get a State Pension based on her husband’s National Insurance contributions will be extended to men whose wives reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010.This will mean that both men and women can get a State Pension based on their wife’s or husband’s National Insurance contributions if this is better than a State Pension based on their own contributions record.
• At the moment, we award National Insurance credits to men between the ages of 60 and 65 who don’t work and don’t pay National Insurance contributions. We do this to protect their basic State Pension entitlement. We will make similar arrangements for women from 2010, when their State Pension age begins to rise.
• From 2010, if you choose to put off claiming your State Pension once you have reached State Pension age, you will earn extra State Pension at a rate of 10.4% a year. You will be able to put off claiming your State Pension for as long as you want. The Government is proposing to provide an alternative lump-sum payment rather than an increase to your weekly pension if you put off claiming your pension. This will happen from 2005 and will depend on Parliament approving it. We will provide more details in the future.
• From 2010, extra State Pension that can be claimed for adult dependants will be the same for men and women.
• From 6 April 2010, women awarded Graduated Retirement Benefit on or after that date will have their Graduated Retirement Benefit units worked out in the same way as for men.