You are unable to claim pension credit until you turn 65. However if you are unemployed you should be able to claim jobseekers allowance or incapacity benefit if you are not fit to work.
You become eligible for the basic state pension and benefits from the Second State Pension when you are 60 for women and 65 for men (the age of the woman will gradually rise to 65 between the years 2010 and 2020).
Contrary to popular belief the State pension is not an automatic right. Getting one at all, or how much you get, depends on your National Insurance (NI) contributions record, for example how many you have made.
New rules are more generous. Before you had to notch up 49 years for a man and 44 for a woman. This assumed everyone started working at 16. Now it's only 30 years which allows for a few gaps.
If you have not made enough NI contributions you may be able to make voluntary contributions. Ask your local DSS office about these but remember the DSS may get it wrong so double check whatever they tell you.
In certain circumstances more basic pension can be claimed than your NI contributions record might imply. Two examples are home responsibilities protection which is for people who look after a sick or disabled person for at least 35 hours a week, or receive child benefit for a child under 16 or still in full-time education. Your local DSS office is the best place to ask about this initially.
The second example is the DSS provides a pension-forecast service whereby it will predict what state benefits you are in line to receive, including the State Second Pension (formerly known as SERPS), based on your existing NI contributions.
You become eligible for the basic state pension and benefits from the Second State Pension when you are 60 for women and 65 for men (the age of the woman will gradually rise to 65 between the years 2010 and 2020).
Contrary to popular belief the State pension is not an automatic right. Getting one at all, or how much you get, depends on your National Insurance (NI) contributions record, for example how many you have made.
New rules are more generous. Before you had to notch up 49 years for a man and 44 for a woman. This assumed everyone started working at 16. Now it's only 30 years which allows for a few gaps.
If you have not made enough NI contributions you may be able to make voluntary contributions. Ask your local DSS office about these but remember the DSS may get it wrong so double check whatever they tell you.
In certain circumstances more basic pension can be claimed than your NI contributions record might imply. Two examples are home responsibilities protection which is for people who look after a sick or disabled person for at least 35 hours a week, or receive child benefit for a child under 16 or still in full-time education. Your local DSS office is the best place to ask about this initially.
The second example is the DSS provides a pension-forecast service whereby it will predict what state benefits you are in line to receive, including the State Second Pension (formerly known as SERPS), based on your existing NI contributions.
