How to Claim Your State Pension: Online, Phone or Post (2026/27)

This guide is general information, not advice.

This guide is for you if you are reaching State Pension age and want to start getting paid. The State Pension is not paid automatically: you have to claim it, and GOV.UK offers three ways to do that.

By the end you will know which route suits you, what to have to hand, how early you can apply and when the money arrives. It covers the new State Pension, for men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953. If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 you claim the basic State Pension instead, through the Pension Service.

Before you start

• Check your State Pension age with the GOV.UK checker. Every date below counts back from it.
• Check your forecast first at Check your State Pension forecast. It shows what you could get and whether you can increase it. You cannot use it once you are getting your State Pension or have deferred it, so do this before you claim.
• Gather what the claim asks for (GOV.UK, how to claim):
  • the date of your most recent marriage, civil partnership or divorce
  • the dates of any time you lived or worked abroad
  • your bank or building society details
  • any social security numbers you hold for foreign state pension schemes
  • for an online claim, the invitation code from your State Pension letter.

The full new State Pension for 2026/27 is £241.30 a week (GOV.UK, what you’ll get). Your own amount depends on your National Insurance record, which is what the forecast shows.

Step-by-step

1. Wait for the letter, or request a code. The letter contains your invitation code. GOV.UK does not say when it arrives in Great Britain; the Northern Ireland guidance on nidirect says no later than two months before State Pension age. If you have no letter and will reach State Pension age within 3 months, request an invitation code. DWP posts it to your home address and says you should receive it within 5 days.
2. Claim online. Go to Get your State Pension, select Start now and enter your invitation code, then the dates and bank details above. The service is also available in Welsh.
3. Or claim by phone. If you reach State Pension age within the next 4 months, call the Pension Service claim line on 0800 731 7898 (Welsh 0800 731 7936; Relay UK 18001 then 0800 731 7898), Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm (Contact the Pension Service).
4. Or claim by post. Phone the same claim line and ask for a paper claim form to be posted to you. As at 24 September 2026, GOV.UK’s two claim pages show different return addresses: Get your State Pension gives Pension Service 8, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton WV98 1AF, while The new State Pension gives Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3. Ask which to use when you request the form.
5. Choose your start date. When you claim, you are asked when you want your State Pension to start.
6. Tell the Pension Service about changes afterwards, such as a new address, bank account, marriage or a move abroad (report changes).

Living in Northern Ireland? There is a separate service. Use nidirect: Ways to claim State Pension, which covers online, phone and post through the Northern Ireland Pension Centre. The invitation-code service lists a Northern Ireland help line, 0800 587 0892, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.

Living abroad, or in the Channel Islands? There is a separate process through the International Pension Centre; see claim State Pension abroad.

Worked in the EEA or Switzerland? When you apply you are asked about time abroad, and GOV.UK says the International Pension Centre sends your claim to the other countries’ schemes, so you do not claim from each separately.

Deadlines and what happens next

• Your award letter. After you claim, you get a letter about your payments.
• First payment. GOV.UK says it will be no later than 5 weeks after the date you choose. You might get part of a payment before your first full payment (when you’re paid).
• Frequency. The new State Pension is usually paid into your account every 4 weeks.
• Payment day. Set by the last 2 digits of your National Insurance number:

Last 2 digits	Paid on
00 to 19	Monday
20 to 39	Tuesday
40 to 59	Wednesday
60 to 79	Thursday
80 to 99	Friday

You might be paid earlier if your normal day is a bank holiday.

If you do not want to claim yet

You can claim and keep working. If you would rather not claim yet, you do not have to do anything: GOV.UK says a State Pension you do not claim at State Pension age defers automatically, and the weekly amount goes up for every week you defer once you pass the minimum period. The decision and how to claim a deferred pension later are covered in How to defer your State Pension.

Common mistakes

• Assuming it starts on its own. It does not; an unclaimed pension simply defers.
• Waiting for a letter that has gone astray. Within 3 months of State Pension age, request a new invitation code or phone the claim line.
• Phoning too early. The phone route opens only within 4 months of State Pension age.
• Skipping the forecast. It stops working once you claim or defer, so check your record and any gaps first.
• Forgetting overseas details. Periods abroad and foreign social security numbers are asked for, and can affect entitlement.

Related reading

• UK State Pension guide
• State Pension forecast calculator
• How to defer your State Pension