Basic State Pension
The maximum weekly Basic State Pension for 2004-2005 is £79.60 for a single person or £127.25 for a married couple. To qualify you'll need to have paid full National Insurance contributions for 44 years of your working life if you are a man or between 39 and 44 years if you're a woman. In today's world of contract working and career breaks, fewer people are going to have a full NI record by the time they are 65 so they will receive less than the basic amount.
The State Pension age is currently 65 for men and 60 for women. However, from 6 April 2020, the State Pension age for women will also be 65, having risen gradually from 2010. All women born on or after 6 April 1955 will have a State Pension age of 65.
The Basic State Pension is increased each year by little more than inflation and not in line with earnings which rise faster. It was raised above inflation in both 2002 and 2003 following a "pensioners' revolt" over an inflation-linked increase that resulted in a rise of just a few pence a week for 2001.
In addition to the Basic State Pension, the Pension Credit scheme, effective October 2003, promises a minimum of £102.10 for a single person and £155.80 for a married couple. On top of this, the State Second Pension (S2P) , a reform of the SERPS (State Earnings Related Pension Scheme), boosts the pension available to people earning up to £24,600/year.
To find out how much Basic State Pension you are likely to get based on your NI contributions to date, you may request a calculation via The Pension Service website, part of the Department for Work & Pensions, or call the Retirement Pension Forecasting Team on 0845 3000168.
You may be able to pay extra National Insurance contributions to boost your Basic State Pension. For example, you could pay class 3 contributions if you were out of the country. For more details on making up for missed NI contributions you may wish to read the Inland Revenue's Leaflet CA07: Unpaid and Late Paid Contributions.