Most people have no idea how much pension they will receive from the State when they reach retirement age.

Some believe they will receive the full weekly amount regardless of the number of years’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) (or credits) they have paid during their working lifetime. Unfortunately many will not.

Others believe they will have little or no entitlement as they paid few, if any, NICs during their working lifetime. If they are married, or have ever been divorced, they might be pleasantly surprised. To briefly explain, married people can, if they have low entitlement in their own right, usually ‘piggy back’ up to 60% of their spouse’s entitlement. Divorcees with low benefit entitlement can claim the entitlement of their former spouse, if higher!

Many people aren’t aware of the possibility of paying voluntary (Class 3) NICs to top up entitlement to the state pension. Whether or not these might offer good value depends on the circumstances of each individual but the completion of a simple Benefit Request form will ascertain an individual’s ‘offer’ from the government.

Other features of the Basic State Pension deserve more attention and thought than many people realise, including the ability to defer taking this benefit beyond state pension age in return for a higher pension after you want payments to commence.

In addition to the Basic State Pension, millions of people have accumulated entitlement to benefit from the State Second Pension (S2P). S2P used to be known as SERPS and the level of benefit can be substantial. If you are not certain whether or not you have accrued any benefit under S2P the same state pension Benefit Request form (mentioned above) will detail the amount of your entitlement.

From the two types of state pension outlined above many people have entitlement which, if ‘bought’ from an insurance company, would require a fund of £200,000 (or even more). This capitalised value might surprise you. If so, you might be tempted to spend a little time and thought to plan how you could maximise these benefits even further, for your own requirements, circumstances and preferences.

If you would like specialist help and guidance as regards your state pension entitlement……