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England · 2026/27 rates · checked 7 September 2026
Enter a date of birth and get the exact State Pension age date from the DWP timetable, plus what the pension is worth and what happens to it if a care home is being paid for.
Type the day and year, and pick the month. For example, 14 August 1960.
Count the years you paid National Insurance or got NI credits (for example while caring or unemployed). Not sure? Your State Pension forecast on gov.uk shows the exact number.
You do not have to claim at State Pension age. For every 9 weeks you wait, the pension goes up by 1% — just under 5.8% for a full year (gov.uk). But you give up the payments in the meantime.
Most people find this page while looking at care home costs. Here is what happens to the State Pension.
Source: DWP timetable; Pensions Act 2014 (66→67), Pensions Act 2007 (67→68).
Legally, the government must review State Pension age every six years (Pensions Act 2014, s.27). The third review was launched on 21 July 2025, with an independent report led by Dr Suzy Morrissey (terms of reference, gov.uk). As of 7 September 2026 no decision has been announced to bring the rise to 68 forward from 2044–46. Any change needs primary legislation and, by convention, 10 years' notice. We will update this page and the calculator the day a decision is published.
gov.uk State Pension age checker — the official tool; if our result and theirs differ, theirs stands. Check your State Pension forecast for the amount.
Timetable data is reproduced from the DWP PDF without modification. Review status is checked monthly against the third review pages on gov.uk. Cite as: WhatCareCosts State Pension age calculator, verified 7 Sep 2026.
Rates: DWP Benefit and pension rates 2026/27; uprating: written statement HLWS1099, 26 November 2025; State Pension age: DWP timetables, Pensions Acts 2007 and 2014; care charging: DHSC circular 2026/27, Care Act 2014, SI 2014/2672. Personal figures: gov.uk State Pension forecast. If gov.uk and this page disagree, gov.uk is right — tell us.