{"id":843,"title":"Review Your Pension in 2026: Plan Your Retirement in the UK","slug":"the-new-state-pension-amount-what-youll-get-mv","lang":"en","description":"Many people miss key pension details until it’s too late. See the simple checks that can reveal what you may get, what options you have, and what to review next.","content":"

If you searched “Review Your Pension” or “Check My Pensions,” you’re probably trying to answer the same big questions: What will I get, when can I take it, and is it enough? In the UK, a good pension review in 2026 usually means checking State Pension, any workplace pensions, and any Personal Pension pots—then matching them to a realistic retirement budget.

This guide is a practical, UK-focused checklist (not personalised advice). It includes current and published pension rates, key age milestones, and the “must-check” items for people approaching retirement—including Pension Options at 70 and what people mean by Tax Free Cash After Age 75.

Body

1) Start here: “Check My Pensions” in 15–30 minutes

A simple pension review begins with locating all your pensions and confirming what each one will pay.

A. Check your State Pension forecast (online)
Use the official GOV.UK service to see:

how much State Pension you could get,
when you can get it,
and whether you can increase it (for example, by filling gaps). GOV.UK

You can also check through the HMRC app, and there are postal/phone alternatives if needed. GOV.UK

B. Check your State Pension age
Your State Pension age is separate from the age you can take a workplace/personal pension. Use GOV.UK to check your State Pension age and related ages. GOV.UK

C. Find lost workplace/personal pensions
If you’ve moved jobs (or simply lost paperwork), use GOV.UK’s “Find pension contact details” service (often called the Pension Tracing Service). It finds contact details for schemes but won’t confirm your balance. GOV.UK
MoneyHelper also has a step-by-step guide to tracing lost pensions. MaPS

2) State Pension 2025/26 vs 2026/27: what you might receive

If your pension review is happening in 2026, it helps to know the current-year figure and the next-year published rate.

2025/26 full “new State Pension”: £230.25 per week (up from £221.20 in 2024/25). GOV.UK +1
2026/27 full “new State Pension” (published in DWP rates): £241.30 per week. GOV.UK Assets

Your personal amount can be different depending on your National Insurance record (including being “contracted out” in the past). GOV.UK

State Pension age is changing
Under current legislation, the State Pension age rise to 67 is planned between 2026 and 2028. GOV.UK +1

3) How Much for Retirement UK: a realistic “target budget”

A helpful way to sanity-check your pensions is to compare your expected income against a recognised spending benchmark.

The UK’s Retirement Living Standards (developed by the PLSA / Pensions UK) estimate annual expenditure (not gross income) for three lifestyles:

Minimum: £13,400 (one-person), £21,600 (two-person)
Moderate: £31,700 (one-person), £43,900 (two-person)
Comfortable: £43,900 (one-person), £60,600 (two-person) retirementlivingstandards.org.uk +1

This is one of the clearest answers to “How Much for Retirement Uk”—because it frames retirement as the lifestyle you want to fund, not just a pot size.

4) Key ages for a 2026 pension review (and why they matter)

State Pension age (currently 66, rising toward 67 for some people)

Check yours on GOV.UK. GOV.UK +1

Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) for most personal/workplace pensions

Currently 55 for many schemes, but the government legislated that NMPA will rise to 57 in 2028 (with some protections/exceptions). GOV.UK

Age 70 review point
“Pension Options at 70” is a common search because people often reach 70 and want to:

start (or adjust) withdrawals from a defined contribution pot,
decide whether to buy an annuity,
or revisit drawdown strategy and beneficiaries.

GOV.UK’s retirement planning hub outlines your pension options and the step-by-step process to check pensions/support and decide when to retire. GOV.UK +1

5) Tax-free cash basics (and “Tax Free Cash After Age 75”)

Many UK pensions allow you to take a tax-free lump sum when you first access them—often described as “25% tax-free cash.” However, rules and limits apply.

A. Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) and LSDBA
MoneyHelper explains you can usually take up to 25% from each pension as tax-free lump sums provided the total is within your Lump Sum Allowance, which is £268,275 for 2025/26 (standard amount). MaPS+1

HMRC publishes the standard allowances:

Standard lump sum allowance (LSA): £268,275 (2025/26) GOV.UK
Standard lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA): £1,073,100 (2025/26) GOV.UK

B. What people mean by “Tax Free Cash After Age 75”
In simple terms: age 75 matters for certain tax rules—especially around some lump sums and death benefits. MoneyHelper notes LSDBA relates to tax-free payments if you’re ill or die before age 75. MaPS
HMRC guidance also highlights that lump sum death benefits are taxable if the deceased was age 75 or over (specific tax treatment depends on circumstances and timing). GOV.UK Assets

Because schemes and circumstances differ, treat “Tax Free Cash After Age 75” as a prompt to check your scheme’s rules and get regulated guidance/advice if you’re unsure.

6) State Pension deferral: a lever some people consider

If you reach State Pension age but don’t claim straight away, you usually defer automatically.

GOV.UK states that if you defer at least 9 weeks, your State Pension increases, and for every year you delay, weekly payments increase by just under 5.8% (and extra payments may be taxed). GOV.UK +1
MoneyHelper explains this as roughly 1% for every 9 weeks deferred. MaPS

Quick table: your 2026 pension review checklist

Use this as a “do it in order” plan.

Step	What to do	Why it matters	Official place to start
1	Check your State Pension forecast	Confirms your State Pension amount/date and NI record gaps	GOV.UK “Check your State Pension forecast” GOV.UK
2	Check your State Pension age	Age rules are changing for some people (rise toward 67)	GOV.UK “Check your State Pension age” GOV.UK +1
3	Trace lost pensions	Ensures you don’t miss a workplace/personal pension	GOV.UK “Find pension contact details” GOV.UK
4	Compare to Retirement Living Standards	Answers How Much for Retirement UK in lifestyle terms	Retirement Living Standards retirementlivingstandards.org.uk +1
5	Review tax-free cash limits	Checks your “25% tax-free” expectations vs allowances	MoneyHelper + HMRC allowance tables MaPS+1
6	Confirm your “Pension Options at 70” plan	Withdrawal/annuity/drawdown decisions compound over time	GOV.UK retirement planning steps GOV.UK +1

Conclusion

A strong Review Your Pension routine in 2026 is less about guesswork and more about verification: Check My Pensions (State + workplace + Personal Pension), confirm your State Pension age and forecast, trace anything you’ve lost, then compare your expected income to a realistic UK retirement budget. Use the published State Pension rates as a reference point—£230.25/week in 2025/26 and £241.30/week in 2026/27—but remember your personal entitlement depends on your NI record. GOV.UK +2GOV.UK Assets+2

If you’re thinking about Retirement Pension decisions at 70+ (including tax-free cash questions like Tax Free Cash After Age 75), use official guidance first and get regulated advice if your situation is complex.

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and does not provide personal financial, legal, or tax advice. Pension rules and tax treatment can depend on your circumstances and can change over time. Always check official sources and your pension provider’s terms, and consider regulated financial advice for decisions involving withdrawals, transfers, or tax planning.

References

GOV.UK – The new State Pension: what you’ll get (full rate; NI record factors) GOV.UK
GOV.UK – Check your State Pension forecast GOV.UK
GOV.UK – Check your State Pension age GOV.UK
GOV.UK – Find pension contact details (Pension Tracing Service) GOV.UK
GOV.UK – Benefit and pension rates 2025 to 2026 (State Pension rates) GOV.UK
GOV.UK – Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 (published rates; new State Pension £241.30/week) GOV.UK Assets+1
GOV.UK – Pension schemes rates (LSA £268,275; LSDBA £1,073,100 for 2025/26) GOV.UK
MoneyHelper – Lump sum allowances for pensions (25% tax-free cash and allowances) MaPS
HMRC (PDF) – Taxation of lump sum death benefits (age 75 tax point) GOV.UK Assets
GOV.UK – Defer (delay) your State Pension / increase retirement income (5.8% per year) GOV.UK +1
Retirement Living Standards (PLSA/Pensions UK) – Minimum/Moderate/Comfortable budgets retirementlivingstandards.org.uk +1
GOV.UK – Plan your retirement income: step by step / your pension options GOV.UK +1
GOV.UK – State Pension age timetable + DWP statement (rise to 67 planned 2026–2028) GOV.UK +1
GOV.UK – Increasing Normal Minimum Pension Age to 57 in 2028 GOV.UK

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