The new State Pension

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How to claim

You will not get your new State Pension automatically - you have to claim it.

You’ll need:

  • the date of your most recent marriage, civil partnership or divorce
  • the dates of any time spent living or working abroad
  • your bank or building society details
  • any social security numbers that you have for foreign state pension schemes

If you’re applying online, you’ll also need the invitation code from the letter about getting your State Pension.

If you have not received an invitation letter but you are within 3 months of reaching your State Pension age, you can request an invitation code.

Apply now

How to claim is different if you claim from Northern Ireland or if you claim from abroad, including the Channel Islands.

Other ways to apply

Claim by phone

If you’ll reach State Pension age in the next 4 months, you can phone the Pension Service to claim.

Claim by post

You need to phone the Pension Service to get a State Pension claim form posted to you.

Send your completed form to:

Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3

Do not write anything except the freepost address on the envelope. You do not need a postcode or a stamp.

After you apply

You must tell the Pension Service if your circumstances change.

If you want to keep working

You can claim your new State Pension even if you carry on working. However, you can delay (defer) claiming your state pension to increase the amount you get.

If you also want to claim a state pension from another country

You might be able to make a single claim in the UK. The state pension schemes in other countries you’ve lived or worked in could then be told that you’ve made a claim.

If they’re told, those other schemes will let you know if you’re eligible. You will not need to make separate claims to them.

This applies to state pension schemes in:

  • the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
  • Switzerland
  • any country that has a social security agreement with the UK, apart from Canada and New Zealand

If you want to claim state pensions from any other countries that have not been named, including Canada and New Zealand, apply to their pension schemes separately.

Claiming an Isle of Man pension

If you’re eligible for a state pension from the Isle of Man, it will be separate to your UK new State Pension.

Find out if you’re eligible and how to claim your Isle of Man pension. You’ll get one payment for your UK pension and a separate payment for your Isle of Man pension.

You cannot defer an Isle of Man pension after 6 April 2016.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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