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<p>There is no single lowest or minimum payment of the State Pension. This is because
the amount received varies depending on individual circumstances, including when State
Pension age is reached, the National Insurance record and the qualifying rules under
which the State Pension is calculated. This means it is not possible to provide an
estimate of the numbers of people receiving the lowest amount or amounts below a minimum.</p><p>
</p><p>The old State Pension (for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April
2016) could be made up of the basic State Pension, additional State Pension and Graduated
Retirement Benefit. Each of these elements had their own rules.</p><p> </p><p>For
those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2010, an individual needed to have
a minimum of one qualifying year of paid or treated as having been paid National Insurance
contributions, and at least 25 per cent of the qualifying years required for a full
basic State Pension in order to get any basic State Pension. Women normally needed
39 qualifying years and men 44 qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension
(currently £129.20 per week). Proportionate rates were paid depending on the number
of qualifying years once the minimum qualifying conditions were met.</p><p> </p><p>For
those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010, but before 6th April 2016,
one qualifying year of paid or credited National Insurance contributions gave entitlement
to some basic State Pension and 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions
were required for a full basic State Pension. Proportionate rates were paid depending
on the number of qualifying years between one and 30.</p><p> </p><p>The amount of
Additional State Pension was based on a person’s earnings, National Insurance position
and whether they had been contracted out of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme
or, from 2002, State Second Pension. Graduated Retirement Benefit was based on the
number of units that had been obtained between 1961 and 1975.</p><p> </p><p>The new
State Pension (for those reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016 onwards) is
based on an individual’s National Insurance record. The minimum qualifying period
is usually 10 years of contributions to get any new State Pension so a person with
10 qualifying years will receive 10/35ths of the full rate which is around £48 a week
(2019/20 rates).</p><p> </p><p>People with no pre-existing National Insurance record
prior to 6 April 2016 will require 35 years of contributions to receive the full new
State Pension amount (currently £168.60 a week). Proportionate rates are paid depending
on the number of qualifying years once the minimum qualifying conditions are met.</p><p>
</p><p>For people with an existing National Insurance record at 6 April 2016, transitional
arrangements take their previous contributions into account. This is done by calculating
a starting amount for the new State Pension which is based on their previous National
Insurance record. If the starting amount is less than the full rate of the new State
Pension, they may be able to add qualifying years from 6 April 2016, until they reach
the full amount or their State Pension age, whichever comes first. This means that
they will receive at least as much from the new State Pension as they would have done
from the old system, based on their National Insurance record to 6 April 2016.</p><p><br>Pensioners
on a low income may be entitled to Pension Credit. Pension Credit is an income-related
benefit for the poorest pensioners who have been unable to provide for their retirement.
The amount of Pension Credit a person gets depends on how much money they have coming
in each week and how much they have saved or invested.</p>
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