Your State Pension: What Each National Insurance Year Is Worth (2026/27)
The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week for 35 qualifying years. Each year is worth about £6.89 a week for life. Here's what your record pays, and whether to fill gaps.
By the MoneyBackKit UK team · Updated 17 October 2026 · 5 min read
Most people only look at their State Pension a few years before they reach pension age, and then get a surprise: the number on their forecast is lower than the “full” amount they've heard about. The reason is almost always the same: missing years on their National Insurance record. The good news is that each missing year is worth a fixed, easy-to-work-out amount, and you can often fill gaps.
The basic rule
- The full new State Pension in 2026/27 is £241.30 a week.
- You need 35 qualifying years for the full amount, and at least 10 to get anything at all.
- In between, you get a share: each qualifying year is worth about £6.89 a week, or £359 a year.
A qualifying year is a tax year in which you paid enough National Insurance, or were given NI credits, for example while claiming Child Benefit for a child under 12, caring for someone, or claiming certain benefits.
What different records pay
New State Pension by qualifying years (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 |
Someone with 25 years gets about £172.36 a week. Ten more years would add £68.94 a week for the rest of their life. Over a 20-year retirement that's more than £71,701, before yearly triple-lock rises.
Filling gaps: is it worth it?
You can usually pay voluntary Class 3 contributions for gaps in the last six tax years. The cost of one year changes each April, but it's typically paid back in about three years of retirement, because each year adds roughly £359 a year for life. Before paying, check two things:
- That the year really is missing: get your forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension.
- That you won't reach 35 years anyway by working until State Pension age. If you will, buying earlier years gives you nothing extra.
Delaying your claim
If you don't claim at State Pension age, your pension grows by 1% for every 9 weeks you wait, just under 5.8% a year. Waiting a full year on the full rate would raise it to about £253.37 a week. It takes roughly 17 years to make back the payments you skip, so delaying mainly suits people who are still working and in good health.
State Pension Calculator 2026/27Put in your qualifying years to estimate your State Pension.