2025-11-12

When to review your State Pension forecast

pensionsretirement

Many people request a State Pension forecast once and file it away. That is fine for a few years, but several life events change the picture: a career break, self-employment, or a move between contracted-out and contracted-in employment history.

If you are within five years of your intended leave date, pull a fresh forecast and compare it with your workplace pension statements. Gaps in National Insurance years can sometimes be filled with voluntary contributions — but only after weighing the cost against other uses of cash.

Couples should look at both forecasts together. One partner’s full entitlement does not automatically cover the other’s shortfall, and survivor benefits work differently depending on when you reached State Pension age.

Bring the forecast to any retirement income meeting. It anchors the guaranteed layer of your plan and stops optimistic assumptions about what the State will provide.