UK State Pension forecast calculator
Thirty five qualifying years buy the full new State Pension, £241.30 a week in 2026/27. Enter the years you already have and the ones still to come, and see the weekly figure, the shortfall, and what a voluntary year costs against what it pays.
Your forecast
Weekly pension£206.83a week
- A year
- £10,755
- Qualifying years counted
- 30 / 35
- Short of the full rate
- 5 years
- Share of the full rate
- 85.7%
- Each extra year is worth
- £358.5
- Class 3 cost of a year
- £956.8
- Years to break even
- 2.7 years
Full rate £241.3 a week at 35 qualifying years, 2026/27.
Estimate
workingfigures.com/uk/state-pension
The formula
Weekly pension = £241.30 × qualifying years ÷ 35, capped at 35 years and paid only from 10 years. A voluntary Class 3 year costs £18.40 a week for 52 weeks, £956.80, and buys £358.50 a year of pension, so it pays for itself in under three years of retirement.
What this assumes
The new State Pension only, for anyone reaching State Pension age from April 2016. Records that started before 2016 carry a starting amount that can sit above or below the straight pro rata, so check your own forecast on GOV.UK before buying anything. Self-employed years count through Class 2, which is credited rather than charged above the small profits threshold of £7,105. Rates verified August 2026 for 2026/27.
FAQ
- I am self-employed. Do my years still count?
- Yes. Above the small profits threshold Class 2 is treated as paid, so the year qualifies without a separate bill; below it you can pay Class 2 voluntarily, which is far cheaper than Class 3. The catch is that a year of low profit only counts if you actually declare it, so a Self Assessment you skipped is a qualifying year you lost.
- Is buying back gap years worth it?
- Usually, if you will not otherwise reach 35 years and you expect to draw the pension for more than about three years. The arithmetic is blunt: £956.80 once against £358.50 a year for life. What breaks it is buying years that push you past 35, which buy nothing, or a starting amount that already counts the year.
- What counts as a qualifying year?
- A tax year in which you paid or were credited with enough National Insurance: employment above the lower earnings limit, self-employment above the small profits threshold, or credits for things like child benefit for a child under 12, carer's allowance or certain benefits. Part years do not count at all, which is why one month of work in a tax year can be worth chasing.