State Pension payment dates

Usually every 4 weeks, in arrears — 13 payments a year. Your first full payment arrives after you reach State Pension age, and the Pension Service confirms your payment day in writing.

No — your payment day is set by the last two digits of your National Insurance number and stays the same. What you can change is the account it's paid into, by telling the Pension Service.

You'll usually be paid on the working day before instead. This is automatic — you don't need to do anything, and it isn't an extra payment. Your following payment goes back to its normal date, so the gap after an early payment is a little longer than usual.

If your usual payment date landed on a weekend or a bank holiday, the payment was moved to the working day before. The amount is the same — only the date changes.

On a Friday, every 4 weeks. If that Friday is a bank holiday — for example Friday 25 December 2026 — you'll be paid on the working day before, Thursday 24 December 2026.