How else are state pensions different for women?

You can build up entitlement to the basic State Pension if you pay, or are credited with, National Insurance contributions. ‘Credited’ means that the Government has added some contributions to your National Insurance record for you.

From April 2000, you can be treated as having paid National Insurance contributions if your earnings are at or above the lower earnings limit and at or below the primary threshold (£79 a week and £91 a week in 2004/05). The primary threshold is the amount of earnings above which you will pay National Insurance contributions. In 2004/05, a person needs to have earnings of at least £79 a week (on which National Insurance contributions are paid or are treated as having been paid) to build up entitlement to a State Pension. This does not include earnings above the upper earnings limit of £31,720, on which there is now a 1% contribution.

The years during which you build up your entitlement to the basic State Pension are called ‘qualifying years’. The amount of State Pension you receive depends on the number of qualifying years built up before you reach State Pension age. If you:

• give up work or take lower paid work while you look after your children;
• give up work or take lower paid work while looking after someone who is seriously ill or disabled; or
• are a registered foster carer.

you can still protect your entitlement to basic State Pension.

There are special rules about protecting your State Pension in this way and we explain them briefly in the next section. This is called Home Responsibilities Protection and, although this mainly helps women, it can help some men as well.

Women whose State Pension age is 60 will normally need 39 qualifying years for a full (100%) basic State Pension. However, between 2010 and 2020,the number of qualifying years for a full State Pension will gradually increase in line with the increase in State Pension age until, in 2020, women will need 44 qualifying years, like men.

If you have less than the number of qualifying years needed for a full State Pension, you may still get some basic State Pension. But if you reach State Pension age with less than a quarter (25%) of the qualifying years for a full State Pension, you won ’t get any basic State Pension. Neither will you be entitled to any refund of your National Insurance contributions.