State Pension Forecast Calculator

Forecast your State Pension from the 2026/27 full rate of £241.30 a week, with State Pension age from your date of birth and an uprating assumption.

2026/27 tax year

Pensions & Retirement
UK-wide

Date of birth

Sets your State Pension age from the legislated timetable. Exact day: gov.uk/state-pension-age.

Qualifying NI years already accrued

Check your figure on your gov.uk State Pension forecast.

Advanced assumptions

Annual uprating assumption (%)

An assumption, not a forecast. For comparison, the full new State Pension rose by an average of 4.5% a year from £155.65 (2016/17) to £241.30 (2026/27), a period that includes the 10.1% rise of April 2023.

CPI for discounting to today's money (%)

Voluntary Class 3 NI years to buy (post-2026)

Class 3 2026/27 rate: £18.40/week = £956.80/year per qualifying year purchased. Each year added boosts the new SP by 1/35 (~£6.89/week in 2026/27 prices).

Estimate only. Uprating policy could change, and a National Insurance record that started before 6 April 2016 (especially if contracted out) can give a different amount from the simple years/35 rule; check your gov.uk forecast.

Enter your figures and click Forecast.

How the forecast works

2026/27 baseline rate. The new State Pension full rate is £241.30/week from 6 April 2026 (DWP Proposed Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027). 35 qualifying NI years = full rate; 10 minimum to get any payment; pro-rated linearly in between. That linear rule is exact for a record that starts on or after 6 April 2016. For an earlier record gov.uk says: "If you were contracted out, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension", and some people get a protected payment above the full rate (gov.uk new State Pension guide).
Triple lock projection. Each year the State Pension rises by the higher of: CPI inflation (September previous year), average weekly earnings growth (May-July), or 2.5% (the floor). The statutory minimum is an earnings link (Social Security Administration Act 1992 s.150A); the CPI and 2.5% elements are government policy. The forecast applies your assumption once for each April from 2027 up to your State Pension age. For comparison, the full new State Pension averaged 4.5% a year over the 10 upratings from 2016/17 to 2026/27.
Future years accrued. Years between your current age and State Pension Age are assumed to be NI-qualifying if you're working full-time + earning above the Lower Earnings Limit (£6,708/year 2026/27). NI credits also count - claiming Child Benefit for a child under 12, receiving Carer's Allowance, etc.
Voluntary Class 3 top-up. Class 3 NI 2026/27 weekly rate is £18.40 per week = £956.80/year per qualifying year (gov.uk Voluntary NI rates). Buys 1/35th of the full new SP = £6.89/week (£358.50/year) in 2026/27 prices, so it pays for itself after about 2.7 years of receipt, if the extra year actually raises your pension (it may not if you were contracted out). Up to 6 prior years can usually be filled; check eligibility on gov.uk before paying.
Today's money discount. Future nominal pension is discounted at the CPI assumption to express in current purchasing power. The actual real-terms outcome depends on whether wages or CPI dominate the triple lock over your remaining career.

Worked example: aged 40, 20 years accrued

Default scenario: born 6 April 1986, so aged 40 at the start of 2026/27. Anyone born on or after 6 April 1978 has a State Pension age of 68, so this person reaches it in 2054, 28 years away. 20 qualifying years now plus 28 more = 35 (capped). Full new SP at State Pension age.

2026/27 base: £241.30/week = £12,547.60/year.
28 April upratings at an assumed 3.0%: £241.30/week × 1.03²⁸ ≈ £552/week nominal.
Assumed 2% CPI over the same 28 years: divide by 1.02²⁸ ≈ £317/week in 2026/27 prices.
Under these two assumptions, uprating 1 point above inflation adds about 31% in real terms over 28 years. Both are assumptions; neither is a forecast.

Sources + caveats

Current new State Pension rate per DWP Proposed Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027. Qualifying-years rules per the Pensions Act 2014 ss.2-4 (entitlement at the full, reduced and transitional rates).
The triple lock is government policy, not statute, and could be replaced or scaled back.
State Pension age timetable (Pensions Act 1995 Sch 4, as amended): 66 for those born 6 October 1954 to 5 April 1960; phased up to 67 for births from 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961 (Pensions Act 2014 s.26); 67 for births 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977; phased up to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for births from 6 April 1977 to 5 April 1978; 68 for births on or after 6 April 1978. The third State Pension age review, launched in July 2025, could change the later part of this timetable.
Class 3 voluntary NI 2026/27 weekly rate £18.40 per gov.uk Voluntary NI rates page. Top-ups are normally possible up to 6 tax years back. The extended window for gaps from April 2006 to April 2017 (open to men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953) closed on 5 April 2025 (DWP/HMRC).
For your authoritative figure use gov.uk/check-state-pension. Not pension advice; consider regulated advice before paying Class 3.