Half (50 per cent) of those claiming the new state pension are receiving the full amount, a freedom of information request by Responsible Life has revealed, prompting concerns that there is a knowledge and information gap amongst savers.

This compared to almost three quarters (74 per cent) of people who are claiming the old basic state pension and receive at least the full rate.

The figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) showed that, of the estimated 3.06 million people receiving the new state pension, 649,000 women and 881,000 men were receiving less than £185.15, the full state pension during this period (November 2022).

Under the old state pension system, of the near 9.6 million people receiving the basic pension in November 2022, just over a quarter (26 per cent) received less than the full amount of £141.85.

Responsible Life executive chairman, Steve Wilkie, highlighted the figures as suggestion that there is a knowledge and information gap around the state pension, warning that people overestimate how much they think they’re going to receive because they don’t understand how the benefit is calculated.

He said: “These figures from the DWP show a much higher percentage of people who have claimed their state pensions since April 2016 are not receiving the full amount, compared to those pre-2016, under the old state pension system.

"The state pension makes an important contribution to most peoples’ finances in retirement, and knowing how much they’ll receive is crucial when planning for the future.

“The state pension changes made by the government, creating a ‘single tier’ pension, were designed to make things simpler, but that doesn’t appear to be the case on this evidence.

“To avoid people retiring and facing the shock of a smaller state pension that they were expecting, more needs to be done to raise awareness of the importance of checking what you’re likely to receive before you reach retirement age, and taking the necessary steps if the figure is less than anticipated.”

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