A married woman is eligible for the same Basic State Pension as an unmarried woman after the age of 60. This is calculated from National Insurance contributions, with the minimum Basic Pension working out to �84.25. A married woman may however claim a pension based on their husband's National Insurance contributions of around 60 %, but with a limit of �50.50. Additionally, if under pensionable age, a married woman's husband may be able to claim an extra basic State Pension as a dependent. This does not apply if you are earning or receiving state benefits higher than �57.45 a week, as from 2006-2007. The pensionable age for women will also increase from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. One of the problems with the current pension for women over 60 is that their National Insurance contributions were worked out at a reduced rate until 1977, meaning that their overall NI contribution is often significantly lower than men.
