Additional State Pension

The Additional State Pension is an extra amount of money you could get with your Basic State Pension. It is based on your National Insurance contributions. Once you have reached State Pension age and are claiming the Basic State Pension you will automatically get any Additional State Pension you are eligible for. There is no need to make a separate claim.

How much you get depends on your earnings and whether you have claimed certain benefits. There is no fixed amount like the Basic State Pension.

You get the Additional State Pension automatically, unless you’ve contracted out of it.

The Additional State Pension is paid with your Basic State Pension. It normally increases every year by prices — the percentage growth in prices in the UK as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

The Additional State Pension is made up of two schemes. You might have contributed to both, depending on how long you’ve been working.

The main difference between the two schemes is that since 2002 you also contribute to the Additional State Pension if you’re claiming certain benefits. (see table below).

You can build up entitlement to Additional State Pension if you are:

• employed and earning over £5,772 (from any one job);

• looking after children under 12 years old and claiming Child Benefit;

• caring for a sick or disabled person for more than 20 hours a week and claiming Carer’s Credit;

• a registered foster carer and claiming Carer’s Credit;

• receiving certain other benefits due to illness or disability.

Employed people do not usually build up Additional State Pension if they are in a pension scheme that opts out of the Additional State Pension. From 6 April 2012, contracting out of the Additional State Pension was abolished for certain kinds of pensions. These are:

• a personal or stakeholder pension scheme; or

• a company or occupational pension scheme which is contracted out on what is called a “money purchase” or “defined contribution” basis.

Those affected will have been automatically brought back into the Additional State Pension and building up Additional State Pension from this time. More information is available at: www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@over50/documents/digitalasset/dg_195031.pdf

If you have not yet reached retirement age but wish to know how much you are likely to get from Additional State Pension, the Pension Forecast Service can give you an estimate (www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement).