State Pension Forecasts

If you're wanting to work out how much money you may need to save for retirement, then your first step is to get a State Pension forecast, which will let you know how much money you are likely to get when you claim a State Pension. This will give you an estimate of how much basic State Pension and Additional State Pension (Second State Pension, and formerly known as SERPS - State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme) you may get when you reach State Pension age, and help you to decide whether or not you need to save more.

What Information Will You be Given?

When you apply for a State Pension forecast, you'll be provided with a number of pieces of information:

• A forecast of how much State Pension you may get at State Pension age.
• An estimate of the current value of your State Pension.
• The number of years you've made (or been credited with) National Insurance contributions (NICs) - i.e. your current number of qualifying years.
• An indication of the amount of State Pension you may be able to get by using your late or former spouse's or civil partner's NI contributions.
• The effect on your Additional State Pension (Second State Pension) if you are contracted out, either through a personal pension or a company (occupational) pension scheme.
• A forecast of how much you could get by deferring your State Pension.
• Information on how you may be able to improve your Basic State Pension.

How to Apply for a State Pension Forecast

Before you apply for a State Pension forecast, you'll need to have certain information to hand:

• Your National Insurance (NI) number.
• Your spouse's or civil partner's National Insurance (NI) number (if you're married or in a civil partnership).
• Details of your current salary if you are paid by an employer (rather than self-employed).
• The types of National Insurance contributions (NICs) you're paying.
• Details of any marriages, civil partnerships or annulments.
• Details of any time you've spent working abroad.

Once you have this information, there are three ways to apply for a forecast:

1. By Telephone

If you live in the UK and are more than 30 days away from State Pension age, then you can apply by phoning the State Pension Forecasting Team on 0845 3000 168 (textphone 0845 3000 169). A member of the team will complete a form for you and post you a forecast in around 15 working days. Lines are open 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday, and 9.00 am to 1.00 pm on Saturdays.

2. Online

If you live in the UK, are not widowed, and are more than 4 months away from State Pension age, then you may apply for a State Pension forecast online at:

To do this, you'll need to register with the Government Gateway service; if you used another online government service, such as Self Assessment, then you'll already have a User ID. If not, you'll be given an ID when you register, and will be sent a confirmation through the post within 7 days. Once you are a registered user, you can use your User ID and password every time you log in to the Government Gateway. You'll be sent an Activation Code each time you enrol for a different government service; this is used to activate the service for the first time. This should arrive within 7 days.

Once you receive your Activation Code, you must use this to activate the State Pension forecast online service within 28 days; after this date the code will become invalid.

3. By Post

If you live in the UK and are more than 30 days away from State Pension age, then you can apply for a State Pension forecast by completing and returning an application form (BR19). It may take approximately 15 working days to prepare your forecast from when your application is received.

Forms can be downloaded from The Pension Service website.