Married couple State Pension
The rule, in one line
There is no married couple's State Pension. Since the new State Pension started in April 2016, each person is assessed on their own National Insurance record1. Two people who each qualify for the full new State Pension get £241.30 a week each, which is £482.60 a week between you.
What a couple gets, side by side (2026/27)
The £482.60 combined figure is simply two full new pensions added together (£241.30 x 2). Your own household total is the sum of each partner's actual figure, which you can each check on the forecast calculator.
New State Pension: your own record only
If you reached State Pension Age on or after 6 April 2016 you are on the new State Pension, and your amount is normally based on your own NI record only. You cannot boost it with your husband's or wife's contributions in the way the old system allowed2. The one narrow exception is if you paid the reduced-rate "married woman's stamp" in the 35 years before reaching SPA, which can give a minimum new State Pension amount. Each of you should get an individual forecast on gov.uk/check-state-pension.
Old basic State Pension: the £110.75 spouse rate
If you reached State Pension Age before 6 April 2016 you are on the old basic State Pension. A married person or civil partner whose own basic pension is below £110.75 a week may be able to claim up to £110.75 a week (the Category B rate) based on their spouse's or civil partner's National Insurance record3. This top-up does not exist on the new State Pension, so it only helps couples who both reached SPA under the old rules.
If your spouse or civil partner dies
You may be able to inherit part of a deceased partner's State Pension, but only certain elements and only under conditions: for example, half of their protected payment where your marriage or civil partnership began before 6 April 2016, or part of their Additional State Pension from the old scheme4. You will not inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension Age. The exact entitlement depends on both partners' records, so check the gov.uk inheritance rules rather than assuming a figure.
Pension Credit for couples
If a couple's combined weekly income is low, Pension Credit tops your joint weekly income up to £363.25 in 2026/275. That is a means-tested floor, separate from the State Pension your NI records earn. See the Pension Credit floor page for who qualifies.