The State Pension does not start itself. A letter is meant to arrive first, a claim has to follow it, and three separate routes exist for making that claim depending on how you would rather deal with it. This page covers the letter, the deadlines either side of State Pension age, the three ways to claim, and what happens if none of them is used.
It is not paid automatically
GOV.UK is direct about this: you will not get your new State Pension automatically, you have to claim it (GOV.UK, The new State Pension: how to claim, checked 1 November 2026). Reaching State Pension age starts nothing on its own; a claim, in one of the forms below, is what turns the entitlement into a payment.
nidirect describes the same requirement from the claimant’s side: you should get a letter no later than two months before you reach State Pension age, telling you what to do (nidirect, Ways to claim State Pension, checked 1 November 2026). If that letter has not arrived and you are within three months of State Pension age, you can still request an invitation code and start a claim without it.
Online, phone and post
Each route works from a different starting point, and the invitation code is only needed for one of them. Online, GOV.UK’s service takes the code from your letter and starts your claim; if you do not have the letter and reach State Pension age within three months, you can request a code instead (GOV.UK, The new State Pension: how to claim, checked 1 November 2026).
By phone, you can claim if you will reach State Pension age in the next four months, on the Pension Service claim line, 0800 731 7898, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, except public holidays; the Welsh-language claim line is 0800 731 7936, and Relay UK users dial 18001 first (GOV.UK, Contact the Pension Service: claim your State Pension, checked 1 November 2026).
By post, phone the Pension Service first to have a claim form sent to you. GOV.UK gives two different return addresses. Its State Pension guide says Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3, with nothing else on the envelope and no stamp (GOV.UK, The new State Pension: how to claim, checked 1 November 2026). Its claim page says Pension Service 8, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton, WV98 1AF (GOV.UK, Get your State Pension, checked 1 November 2026). Use the return address the Pension Service gives you with the form. Our State Pension contact page has every number in one place, including the separate line for general changes.
Northern Ireland, and claiming from abroad
In Northern Ireland you claim your State Pension through nidirect’s own service, and from abroad you claim through the International Pension Centre. GOV.UK confirms that how to claim is different if you claim from Northern Ireland or from abroad, including the Channel Islands (GOV.UK, The new State Pension: how to claim, checked 1 November 2026).
From abroad, the International Pension Centre handles the claim on +44 (0)191 218 7777, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (GOV.UK, International Pension Centre, checked 1 November 2026). Living or working in the European Economic Area or Switzerland can also mean a separate claim is sent automatically to that country’s pension scheme, so you do not have to claim from each country yourself.
Your first payment, and the payment day
The first payment always lands after a short wait, whichever route you claimed through. GOV.UK says your first payment will be no later than five weeks after the date you choose to start, and you will get a full payment every four weeks after that (GOV.UK, The new State Pension: when you're paid, checked 1 November 2026).
You might also get part of a payment before that first full one, on the letter that follows your claim.
Which day of the week it arrives on depends on your National Insurance number, not on when you claimed.
| Last two digits of your National Insurance number | Payment day |
|---|---|
| 00 to 19 | Monday |
| 20 to 39 | Tuesday |
| 40 to 59 | Wednesday |
| 60 to 79 | Thursday |
| 80 to 99 | Friday |
If you do not claim: deferring, and backdating
Not claiming is not the same as losing the pension. GOV.UK states that if you do not claim your State Pension at State Pension age, it automatically defers, and you do not have to do anything (GOV.UK, Defer (delay) your State Pension, checked 1 November 2026). Our deferring page covers how the amount can increase.
That is the default position; what happens next if you do go on to claim is a separate question, covered below.
The regulations that set the time allowed for claiming a State Pension give a 12-month window: a claim made within 12 months of the day you were first entitled to the pension is treated as claimed for that day, which can mean backdated arrears rather than only a higher future rate through deferral (Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, Schedule 4, paragraph 13, checked 1 November 2026).