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How does the state pension work?
There are currently two versions of the state pension in circulation. Which one you receive will depend on when you reached state pension age.
- If you reached state pension age before April 2016, you’ll be eligible for the basic state pension.
- If you reached state pension age after April 2016, you’ll receive the new state pension.
As of 2024, everybody who is eligible for the basic state pension has reached state pension age. If you’re eligible, you should already be claiming your pension, unless you have made a deferral.
What are the 2024 pension rates?
State pension amounts are reviewed in April each year; this includes the basic state pension and the new state pension.
| Basic state pension | |
| 2023/24 rate | £156.20 |
| 2024/25 rate | £169.59 |
| New State Pension | |
| 2023/24 rate | £203.85 |
| 2024/25 rate | £221.20 |
Bear in mind that your state pension, whichever you are eligible for, won’t be paid automatically. You should receive a letter around 2 months before you reach state pension age (it may be earlier than this) with guidance of how to claim and what your options are.
What’s the difference between basic and new state pension?
Under the basic state pension, it was possible to earn what is known as an additional state pension, which is an extra amount of money based on the number of years you paid National Insurance, your earnings, and if you claimed certain benefits, such as Carer’s Credit.
Introduced in 2016, the new state pension aimed to simplify the pension scheme to make it clearer what everybody was entitled to in retirement. Additional payments and the flat rate were essentially brought together in one larger, standardised payment.
If you reached pension age before April 2016 (when the new state pension was introduced), you’ll receive any additional state pension you earned on top of your basic state pension.
If you reached or will reach pension age after April 2016, you will be entitled to any additional payments you earned up until April 2016. This will be paid on top of the new state pension amount and is referred to as a ‘protected payment’, which ensures you receive the extra amount of money you earned during the qualifying years.
Does being transgender affect your state pension?
Up until 2018, the state pension age for women was five years lower than for men. This meant that women were entitled to their state pension when they reached 60 years old, whereas for men it was 65.
The Pensions Act implemented changes which meant that the state pension age would be equalised, increasing to 66 for men and women by 2020, which was then brought forward to 2018.
Prior to this equalisation, the different state pension ages meant that things could be challenging for transgender people when it came to claiming their pension, particularly for transgender women.
The Gender Recognition Act (2004)
The Gender Recognition Act, which came into force in April 2005 introduced the Gender Recognition Certificate. The Act made it possible for transgender people to legally change their sex to align with the gender they identify with.
Before the Act came in, it wasn’t possible for transgender people to be legally recognised as their identified gender – meaning they would be treated, in a legal sense, as their birth sex, including when claiming the state pension as well as other benefits.
If you are a transgender person and were born between 24 December 1919 and 3 April 1945, then you may be eligible for backdated pension payments if you weren’t receiving payments based on your legal gender before 2005 – this is known as equal treatment rights.
You can claim equal treatment rights if you:
- Were born between 24 December 1919 to 3 April 1945
- Can provide evidence of relevant gender reassignment surgery that took place before 4 April 2005
Any backdated payments will only cover time before the Gender Recognition Act came into effect in April 2005.
To be eligible you will need to have met the following criteria before this date:
- Reached pension age.
- Been eligible for the State Pension.
- Have evidence that you underwent a surgical procedure related to gender transition or reassignment.
If you meet this criteria, you can request an ‘expression of interest form’ from the Pension Service.
It’s quite a complicated process, but completing the form could result in you receiving pension payments that you legally have the right to as a transgender person.
You can find more information on the government website here.
Gender Recognition Certificates
As was mentioned above, Gender Recognition Certificates were introduced with the implementation of The Gender Recognition Act.
Although Gender Recognition Certificates shouldn’t be necessary to ensure you receive the new state pension, it could still benefit you to obtain one for other reasons.
A certificate will make it possible to do things such as:
- Update your birth or adoption certificate, if it was registered in the UK.
- Get married or form a civil partnership in your affirmed gender.
- Update your marriage or civil partnership certificate, if it was registered in the UK.
- Have your affirmed gender on your death certificate when you die.
You can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate if:
- You’re aged 18 or over.
- You’ve been diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the UK.
- You’ve been living in your affirmed gender for at least 2 years.
- You intend to live in this gender for the rest of your life.
To apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate, follow the link here.
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