Warning issued to state pensioners who get paid £209 a week from DWP

State pensioners have been warned over their weekly income - with the average payout now falling more than £725 below the full amount. The average payout is £209 a week for men and £205 - four pounds less - for women, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data shows.

The average of £207.25 a week, is £13.95 a week below the full new state pension of £221.20, which is a shortfall of £725.40 a year. In the wake of the findings, state pensioners have been urged to consider topping up their National Insurance contributions.

You can check your National Insurance record online to see what you’ve paid, up to the start of the current tax year (6 April 2024), any National Insurance credits you’ve received and if gaps in contributions or credits mean some years do not count towards your State Pension (they are not ‘qualifying years’).

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You can also check if you’ll benefit from paying voluntary contributions to fill any gaps, check how your State Pension forecast will change if you decide to pay voluntary contributions and check if you can pay voluntary contributions online and how much this will cost.

You can have gaps in your National Insurance record and receive the full new State Pension. You can get a State Pension statement which will tell you how much State Pension you may get. You can also apply for a National Insurance statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check if your record has gaps.

State pension payments rise each year in line with the triple lock, which is delivering a 4.1 percent boost to payments next year. With the increase, the full new state pension will rise from £221.20 a week to £230.30 a week, while the full basic state pension is going up from £169.50 a week to £176.45 a week.