Check your State Pension forecast: a step-by-step guide

The full new State Pension in 2026/27 is £241.30 per week, about £12,548 a year, or roughly £250,000 over 20 years of retirement at today's rate. Yet many UK adults have no idea what they'll actually receive because they've never checked their forecast, and some will receive less than the full amount because of gaps in their National Insurance record they didn't know existed. Checking takes less than 10 minutes and could be worth thousands of pounds. Your forecast shows how many qualifying years of National Insurance contributions you have, how many you need for the full pension (35 years), whether you have any gaps, and what your projected weekly pension amount is based on your current record. Critically, it also highlights where you can buy missing years. The special window to buy back years from 2006/07 to 2015/16 closed on 5 April 2025, so most people can now fill gaps from the last six tax years. Each missing year costs about £956.80 at the 2026/27 Class 3 rate (£18.40 a week) and adds about £358 a year to your pension for life (1/35 of the full rate), a payback period of under three years.

Visit gov.uk/check-state-pension. You'll need a Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login account. If you don't have one, you can create it during the process, you'll need your National Insurance number, a UK mobile phone, and a form of ID. Step one: log in and navigate to "Check your State Pension." The system will show your forecast: what you'll receive per week based on your current record, and what you'd receive if you continue contributing until state pension age. Step two: click "View your National Insurance record" (linked from the forecast page, or go directly to gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record). This shows every tax year from when you started working, marked as either "full year," "year is not full," or "no record." Step three: identify any gaps. Look for years marked as "not full" or years where you were working but no contributions appear. Common causes include: time spent abroad, self-employment with low profits (below the Small Profits Threshold, £7,105 in 2026/27), career breaks for caring responsibilities, gaps between jobs, and administrative errors. Step four: note each gap year and the cost to fill it. You can normally only pay for the last six tax years, and if you pay more than two years after the year in question you are usually charged the current, higher rate. The special window for 2006 to 2016 closed on 5 April 2025.

Not every NI gap needs filling. The key calculation is whether buying the year would increase your pension. If you already have (or will have by state pension age) 35 qualifying years, additional years don't increase your pension, you're already at the maximum. If you have fewer than 35 qualifying years and won't reach 35 through future employment, buying missing years makes financial sense. The maths is compelling: buying one year of Class 3 voluntary NI contributions costs about £956.80 (2026/27 rate). This adds 1/35th of the full pension to your entitlement, which is about £6.89 per week or £358 per year. If you draw the State Pension for 20 to 23 years, that £956.80 yields roughly £7,170-£8,240 over your retirement at today's rate, around 7-9 times what you paid, backed by the UK government. For people with multiple gaps, the total investment can be significant (five gaps = about £4,784) but the lifetime return is proportionally large. Note: if you receive certain benefits (Carer's Allowance, Child Benefit for a child under 12, Universal Credit), you may get NI credits automatically. Check your record to see if credits have been applied, sometimes they're missing due to administrative issues and can be claimed retrospectively.

NI credits count as qualifying years without requiring cash contributions. Many people are entitled to credits they're not receiving. Child Benefit credits: if you're claiming Child Benefit for a child under 12, you automatically receive NI credits. But if your partner claims Child Benefit and you're the one staying home or working part-time, the credits go to them, not you, so make sure the parent at home (or earning less) is the one who claims. Grandparents and other family members who look after a child under 12 while the parent works can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits using form CF411A. Carer's credits: if you care for someone for 20+ hours per week and they receive a disability benefit, you can claim Carer's Credit (not Carer's Allowance, the credit has no income requirement). Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit: periods on these benefits should generate automatic NI credits, but check your record to confirm they've been applied. Jury service: time spent on jury service earns NI credits. If your record shows a gap for a year when you served on a long jury case, contact HMRC. Armed Forces: service personnel receive credits automatically, but reservists may need to claim separately for training periods.

With the ISA deadline on 5 April 2027 also marking the end of the current tax year, there's a dual pension opportunity for forward planners. First, you normally have six years to pay voluntary NI for a missed year, so 5 April 2027 is the last chance to fill a gap in the 2020/21 tax year. Second, if you're using salary sacrifice to boost pension contributions, doing so before 5 April 2027 uses this tax year's allowances. For those approaching state pension age, checking your forecast now gives you time to buy any missing years before you start claiming. Once you're receiving the pension, you can still buy back years to increase it, but the administrative process is longer. The State Pension is a valuable foundation for retirement income, especially as people live longer. The triple lock (pension increases by the higher of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%) means the state pension maintains its purchasing power over time, unlike many private pensions. Even if you have substantial private pension savings, the state pension provides a guaranteed, inflation-protected income floor that reduces reliance on volatile investment returns. Maximising it is one of the smartest financial moves available to UK workers.

Once you know your projected state pension and have identified any gaps, create an action plan. If you have gaps that are worth buying: contact HMRC's NI helpline (0300 200 3500) to confirm the cost and process for each year. They can also confirm whether buying will actually increase your pension, essential before spending money. You can pay by bank transfer, debit card, or cheque. If you're missing credits: submit the relevant forms (CF411A for grandparents' and other family members' childcare credits, Carer's Credit application online at gov.uk). HMRC can backdate credits in many cases. If you have 35+ qualifying years: no action needed on state pension specifically, but use this as a prompt to review your total retirement provision. Does your workplace pension plus state pension provide enough income for the retirement you want? Use the Retirement Living Standards (retirementlivingstandards.org.uk) as a benchmark: they set out minimum, moderate and comfortable annual budgets for single people and couples, and are updated regularly. If your combined pension provision falls short, consider increasing workplace pension contributions or opening a SIPP. If you want to build up money for a pension top-up or voluntary NI, SYM can help you put a little aside each day. The pension calculator shows how extra contributions could grow.