The State Pension might not be glamorous, but it is one of the most valuable income sources in retirement.
It provides a secure, inflation-linked income for life, which is hard to replicate elsewhere.
Yet many people have no idea how much they are due to receive, or whether they could improve it.
Checking your State Pension forecast is quick, simple, and could add thousands to your retirement income.
Unlike personal or workplace pensions, the State Pension does not depend on markets. It is paid for life and increases each year under the triple lock, which protects it against inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%, whichever is highest.
That reliability makes it the foundation of most retirement plans, even for those with substantial savings.
You can check your forecast online at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.
You will need a Government Gateway or HMRC login, and the process only takes a few minutes.
The service shows:
How much State Pension you are on track to receive
When you can start claiming it
Whether you have any gaps in your National Insurance record
You can also request a paper statement if you prefer not to use the online service.
For 2025–26, the full new State Pension is £221.20 per week, or around £11,500 per year.
To receive the full amount, you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.
You can start receiving a partial State Pension with at least 10 qualifying years, though the amount will be lower.
If you have missing years, you can usually fill them by making voluntary National Insurance contributions.
This can be particularly valuable if you:
Took time out of work for childcare or caring responsibilities
Worked abroad
Were self-employed but had low profits
Had years when you did not pay enough contributions
You can normally go back six tax years to make voluntary payments, and in some cases even further.
It is important to check whether paying for extra years will actually increase your pension before doing so.
A voluntary NI contribution typically costs a few hundred pounds per year, and can increase your State Pension by around £300 per year, inflation-linked, for life.
That means it often pays for itself within three or four years of retirement.
In pure financial terms, it can be one of the best value investments available.
However, if you already have the full 35 years, or you will reach it through future work, there may be no need to top up.
You might already be building qualifying years without realising it:
Employment, with regular National Insurance deductions
Self-employment, through Class 2 or Class 4 contributions
Claiming certain benefits, such as Child Benefit or Universal Credit, which provide automatic NI credits
Caring for a family member, if registered as a carer
It is worth checking how these apply in your situation before making voluntary payments.
Helen, age 57, checks her State Pension forecast.
She has 32 qualifying years and three missing years from when she worked part-time while caring for her children.
She pays voluntary NI contributions for those three years, costing around £2,500 in total.
As a result, her State Pension increases by roughly £900 per year for life, fully inflation-linked.
That is an exceptional long-term return.
The State Pension may not cover all your retirement needs, but it provides a solid base.
Knowing exactly what you are entitled to, and filling any gaps early, makes financial planning far easier.
It takes less than ten minutes to check, but the impact can last a lifetime.
If you would like help checking your State Pension forecast and understanding how it fits into your wider retirement plan, book a 20-minute retirement income review.
Nic Round is a Chartered Financial Planner and Chartered Wealth Manager, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.