UK State Pension top-up calculator
Worked in the UK? You could have a UK State Pension waiting
Not your personal pension
This is the UK State Pension, paid by the UK government. It comes from the National Insurance on your UK pay, not from a pension pot. Any workplace or personal pension you left in the UK is separate.
You might already qualify
You've already paid for at least part of a UK State Pension, through the National Insurance on your UK payslips.
You might be able to top it up
Missing years can often be bought, even from Australia, and each one adds to your pension.
Why it matters
Up to £12,547.60 a year
About A$23,800 a year of extra retirement income, for life, paid into your Australian bank account.
- It's the full new State Pension: £241.30 a week, for 35 or more qualifying years. With fewer years you get less, and under 10 you get nothing.
- Living in Australia, it's frozen at the rate you first get, with no yearly rises.
- It's taxable income in Australia.
In two minutes, this calculator shows
- 1What you're on track to get now
- 2How much more topping up could add
- 3What topping up would cost
All figures in pounds sterling, using 2026/27 HMRC rates.
Your details
Results update as you go.
Your State Pension age is likely to be 68.
- Worked as an employee, full or part time, earning at least that year's Lower Earnings Limit: about £67 a week in 2000/01, rising to £125 by 2025/26 (every year (opens in a new tab)). You don't need to have paid NI for it to count.
- Were self-employed with profits over that year's Small Profits Threshold, or paid Class 2.
- Got NI credits, for example while claiming Child Benefit for a child under 12, Jobseeker's Allowance or Carer's Allowance. Credit years don't count towards HMRC's 10-year test for paying future years from abroad.
- Paid voluntary contributions.
How many full qualifying years do you already have? Check HMRC or guess.
You can only buy back gaps from the last 6 years.
Past gaps are priced at the cheaper Class 2 rate, £190 a year instead of £956.
- Class 2, about £180 to £190 a year. For years up to 2025/26, if you worked in the UK just before leaving and have worked abroad since.
- Class 3, £956 a year (£18.40 a week). Open to more people, and the only option for time abroad from 6 April 2026.
Your results
Lifetime benefit over 20 years: £250,952, that's £12,547.60 a year of UK State Pension from age 68. If you don't top up: £71,701 over the same 20 years. Cost to top up: £1,140 now and £956 a year until age 58, £19,304 in total. The top-up pays for itself 2.2 years after your pension starts, around age 70.
Lifetime benefit over 20 years
If you don't top up
£71,701
10 of 35 qualifying years · £3,585.03 a year
If you top up
£250,952
Your UK State Pension of £12,547.60 a year from age 68, for 20 years, at today's rates.
35 of 35 qualifying years · £12,547.60 a year
How many years do you want to top up?
A full State Pension needs 35 qualifying years. You'd have 35, with 25 years topped up.
Topping up 2020/21 to 2044/45: 6 years of past gaps + 19 years from now on.
- Years you have10
- Past gaps (2020/21 to 2025/26)6
- Future years (2026/27 to 2044/45)19
Cost to top up
Pay now
£1,140
Then each year
£956 /yr
In total, over 19 years
£19,304
- Now: 6 years of past gaps at Class 2, £190 each
- Ages 40 to 58: one year at a time at Class 3, £956 each
Extra from topping up
+£179,251
The top-up pays for itself in
2.2 years
The years you buy add £8,962.57 a year to your pension. From age 68, that adds up to the £19,304 you paid by around age 70. After that, the extra pension you've received is more than you paid, at today's rates, before tax and with no yearly rises.
Your lifetime benefit, year by year
The State Pension you've had so far, minus what you paid to top up, from today to 20 years after your pension starts. Topping up pulls ahead 2.2 years after your pension starts.
Show the numbers year by yearHide the numbers
| Age | Paid that year | If you top up | No top-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 (2026, today) | £2,096 | −£2,096 | £0 |
| 41 (2027) | £956 | −£3,052 | £0 |
| 42 (2028) | £956 | −£4,008 | £0 |
| 43 (2029) | £956 | −£4,964 | £0 |
| 44 (2030) | £956 | −£5,920 | £0 |
| 45 (2031) | £956 | −£6,876 | £0 |
| 46 (2032) | £956 | −£7,832 | £0 |
| 47 (2033) | £956 | −£8,788 | £0 |
| 48 (2034) | £956 | −£9,744 | £0 |
| 49 (2035) | £956 | −£10,700 | £0 |
| 50 (2036) | £956 | −£11,656 | £0 |
| 51 (2037) | £956 | −£12,612 | £0 |
| 52 (2038) | £956 | −£13,568 | £0 |
| 53 (2039) | £956 | −£14,524 | £0 |
| 54 (2040) | £956 | −£15,480 | £0 |
| 55 (2041) | £956 | −£16,436 | £0 |
| 56 (2042) | £956 | −£17,392 | £0 |
| 57 (2043) | £956 | −£18,348 | £0 |
| 58 (2044) | £956 | −£19,304 | £0 |
| 68 (2054) | – | −£19,304 | £0 |
| 69 (2055) | – | −£6,756 | £3,585 |
| 70 (2056) | – | +£5,791 | £7,170 |
| 71 (2057) | – | +£18,339 | £10,755 |
| 72 (2058) | – | +£30,886 | £14,340 |
| 73 (2059) | – | +£43,434 | £17,925 |
| 74 (2060) | – | +£55,982 | £21,510 |
| 75 (2061) | – | +£68,529 | £25,095 |
| 76 (2062) | – | +£81,077 | £28,680 |
| 77 (2063) | – | +£93,624 | £32,265 |
| 78 (2064) | – | +£106,172 | £35,850 |
| 79 (2065) | – | +£118,720 | £39,435 |
| 80 (2066) | – | +£131,267 | £43,020 |
| 81 (2067) | – | +£143,815 | £46,605 |
| 82 (2068) | – | +£156,362 | £50,190 |
| 83 (2069) | – | +£168,910 | £53,775 |
| 84 (2070) | – | +£181,458 | £57,360 |
| 85 (2071) | – | +£194,005 | £60,946 |
| 86 (2072) | – | +£206,553 | £64,531 |
| 87 (2073) | – | +£219,100 | £68,116 |
| 88 (2074) | – | +£231,648 | £71,701 |
Get your £250,952 of UK State Pension sorted in 5 small steps. Free, one step at a time.
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