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State Pension

Check State Pension age: keep the dates distinct

Use the official age service, retain the date of your check and separate State Pension eligibility from private scheme dates and your plans to stop work.

All Pensions Editorial TeamPublished Updated 2 min read

General information, not personal financial advice. Sources checked 2026-10-04. No independent specialist review is claimed.

Use the government age service

State Pension age is the earliest age you can begin receiving State Pension, subject to the applicable entitlement and claim process. It can differ from the age at which a workplace or personal pension becomes accessible. GOV.UK provides the official service for checking your date.

The government page warns that State Pension age is regularly reviewed and the service’s results may change. Keep when you checked, the result and its source in your own records rather than treating a remembered age as permanently fixed.

Sources: GOV.UK: Check your State Pension age

Keep three questions separate

The date you hope to stop work is a planning preference. The government eligibility date and each private scheme’s access or normal pension date answer different questions. Ask the scheme about its own rules; do not copy a government age into every pension record.

For example, a fictional preparation note might say “planned work change: provisional; government age: checked on the official service; scheme start date: confirmation requested”. None of these labels implies that an income payment has begun.

  • Record a source and check date beside the government result.
  • Keep each scheme’s date and conditions separately.
  • Leave a proposed retirement date labelled as a plan.

Reaching the age does not require stopping work

GOV.UK says you can keep working after State Pension age. The new State Pension claim guidance also explains that you can claim while working and that receiving it requires a claim. An age check therefore does not automatically create a payment or end employment.

Use the claim guide if your next task is understanding the application route. If you want to understand a possible delay, read the deferral guide. This page does not recommend a claim date or a work decision.

Sources: GOV.UK: Check your State Pension ageGOV.UK: How to claim the new State Pension

An age check and a forecast are different checks

The government age page also includes checks for Pension Credit qualifying age and bus-travel eligibility, and directs you to the forecast service for pension amounts. Read which result you are looking at instead of treating every date or entitlement label as a State Pension award.

The All Pensions checklist helps you organise reminders without entering a date of birth. All Pensions does not calculate your age, retrieve a government result, assess benefits or confirm entitlement. Keep personal details in the official service when required.

Sources: GOV.UK: Check your State Pension age

Sources & review

Next scheduled review: 2027-01-04. Provider details can change sooner. Use the official website for the current contact route.

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