If you reached pension age before then, and you are over 80, you can claim the extra weekly payment from the DWP. In fact, you don’t even need to wait until you turn 80, you can begin to claim the money from three months before your 80th birthday.

There are some requirements to get the money: your basic state pension must total less than £105.70 per week (which will be the case if you don’t have a full state pension record of National Insurance years), and you must have been resident in the UK for at least 10 years out of the last 20.

Normally, the basic state pension tops out at £174.50, unless you have other pension add-ons like the Pre-97 additional state pension, but that’s a maximum and if you have a patchy or incomplete National Insurance record, you won’t be getting the full amount.

The Over-80s pension does not rely on NI contributions, so you can get it even if you have an incomplete record.

The DWP says: “You can claim the over 80 pension if all of the following apply: you’re 80 or over; you do not get basic State Pension or your basic State Pension is less than £105.70 a week in 2025 to 2026; you were resident in the UK for at least 10 years out of 20 (this does not have to be 10 years in a row) – this 20-year period must include the day before you turned 80 or any day after; you were an ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar on your 80th birthday or the date you made the claim for this pension, if later.

“The earliest you can claim is three months before your 80th birthday.”

To claim, you can go to a Jobcentre or call the Pension Service on 0800 7317898.