State pension payments are mainly dependent on National Insurance records, with 35 years of contributions needed to receive the full amount of £175.20 per week. However, a claimant's starting amount can be altered if they contributed to their state pension under the old system or built up certain private pension schemes.

The Government details retirees are more likely to have been contracted out if they work in the public sector, with the following being key examples of affected sectors:

• the NHS
• local councils
• fire services
• the civil service
• teaching
• police forces
• the armed forces

When claimed, initial payments can take up to five weeks to arrive.

Beyond this, the payments will arrive once every four weeks into a designated account.

These payments will be paid in arrears, meaning the following four weeks will be covered, not the coming four weeks.

It is possible to receive state pension payments while still working and when a person reaches state pension age, they will no longer need to pay National Insurance but could still have other taxes levied against them.