You've probably heard that some drastic changes have been made to State pensions for people who reach their State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. These changes aim to make the system fairer and should be easier to understand. The table below summarises the main characteristics of the old and new state pensions:

We've explained the main changes in more detail below but you can also find out more information here.

To get the new State Pension you must:

• Have been born on or after 6 April 1951 if you are a man
• Have been born on or after 6 April 1953 if you are a woman
• Usually have at least 10 'qualifying years' on your National Insurance (NI) record to get any State Pension - periods you have worked abroad may count towards this.

If you don't meet these requirements then you'll either receive a State Pension in line with the old system (this will be true in the first two cases), or you will receive no State Pension (third case above). In this situation you may still be entitled to pension credit, further details are available here.

This will vary for each individual depending on your NI contribution record but the full new State Pension is currently £241.30 a week. Depending on your personal circumstances you could end up with more or less than this.

As at 6 April 2016, the government looked at each person's NI contribution record to determine a starting amount under the new system. This amount is the higher of:

• The amount you would have got under the old rules (including Basic State Pension and Additional State Pension, more details of which are shown below)
• The amount you would get if the new State Pension had been in place at the start of your working life.

If you have been contracted out of the Additional State pension then a deduction will be applied to the above figures.

If, at 6 April 2016, your starting amount is less than the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week, then you can still build up more benefits and the amount that you receive once you reach your State Pension age may be higher than your starting amount. For each additional qualifying year that's added to your NI record before you reach State Pension age, you'll build up an additional £6.58 a week and this will continue to build up until you reach the maximum of the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week.

If however, your starting amount on 6 April 2016 is more than the full new State Pension, then you'll get this higher amount when you reach State Pension age. The additional amount above £241.30 per week is known as a 'protected payment'.

If you will have worked for 30 years by the time you reach State Pension Age then you will get the full Basic State Pension. Even if your legal spouse has never worked, he or she can also get a Basic State Pension of up to 60% of the full amount based on your work history.

You may have earned some Additional State Pension on top of your Basic State Pension. This amount is not fixed but is based on your NI contributions and your earnings. Generally, if you have been in a company pension scheme such as the Unilever UK Pension Fund, you won’t have earned much extra Additional State Pension.

You can find how much State pension you have earned here.

You can request a statement online or by post.

Your statement will show how much Basic State Pension and Additional Pension you have earned so far. It will also show your State Pension Age, ie the date when you will start to receive your State pension.

One key thing to remember is that the State Pension is taxable. If your income is more than £12,570 for the 2026/27 tax year you will start to pay tax on this income. How much tax you pay depends on the tax rate that applies to you.

More information on how taxation works can be found here:

• Tax on pension
• Pensions and tax
• Tax on pensions in retirement

From 12 October 2015 to 1 April 2017, a small group of people could buy extra State Pension. This applied to you if you are:

• a man born before 6 April 1951
• a woman born before 6 April 1953

More information can be found here.