What is COPE and how does it affect my State Pension?

Last updated:
12 June 2024
If you’ve checked your State Pension forecast recently, you might have seen you have a “COPE estimate”. Find out what that means and how to claim any extra money you might be owed.
What does contracting out and COPE mean?
COPE stands for Contracted Out Pension Equivalent.
If you were employed before 2016 your employer may have chosen to “contract out” part of the National Insurance (NI) they paid that entitles you to your State Pension. Until 2012, contracting out was also possible through some types of personal pensions.
This meant that either you and your employer paid NI at a lower rate, or some of your own NI contributions were invested into your private pension instead of the State Pension.
This used to be quite common. The old State Pension was split into two parts. Being contracted out meant that while you were building entitlement towards your Basic State Pension, what would have been your Additional State Pension entitlement was building up within your private pension.
At the time you were contracted out, the Additional State Pension could have been called something different including:
- Graduated retirement benefit
- SERPS (State Earnings Related Pension Scheme)
- State Second Pension (S2P).
If you were contracted out, this might reduce how much you would get from your State Pension, compared to someone in similar circumstances who was not contracted out. However, the important thing to know is that this isn’t money you’ve completely lost out on, the amount you are entitled to will have been building up elsewhere, and you can still claim it.
While you were contracted out, money was paid into your pension on your behalf that should cover what you would have received if you were entitled to Additional State Pension. This is your COPE amount. How much you might get exactly would depend on the type of pension that was used to contract out.
How do you find out your COPE figure?
You can find it on your State Pension forecastOpens in a new window This will be towards the bottom of the page if you’ve ever been contracted out. This is just an estimate; however, you’ll need to contact your pension provider to find out what the true figure is.
From April 2024, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has removed references to COPE from State Pension forecasts. However, many customers have told us that they can still see it on their forecast, and you might still see your COPE amount on paper forecasts or hear people talk about it.
Will my COPE amount be taken off my State Pension?
No, your COPE amount won’t be deducted from your State Pension. The amount shown at the top of your State Pension forecastOpens in a new window still stands. However, this could include years of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) you haven’t made yet. The COPE estimate that might be at the bottom of the same page is how much more you could’ve received through your State Pension if you weren’t contracted out.
Follow the steps in the next section to claim the part of your pension that was contracted-out. The COPE amount included in your State Pension forecast is just an estimate. Depending on the type of pension scheme that was used to contract out, it could be worth more or less than what it shows.
How to claim your COPE pension
If you were contracted out, this would’ve been done through a private pension. Either this would have been set up as a new pension, or you might already have the COPE amount included as part of your workplace pension. Even if you’ve changed jobs a lot or lost the details of old pensions, you can still claim this money.
Talk to your pension provider
If you already know all your pension providers, you can get in touch to ask about your COPE amount. They will be able to tell you if you were contracted out or not, and how much that money is worth now.
Some pension providers might call it your “Guaranteed Minimum Pension” (GMP).
How to find lost pensions
If you’ve been told you have a COPE estimate but aren’t sure where it could be from, it might be from a pension you’ve forgotten about or lost access to.
HMRC can tell you when you were contracted out if you get in touch with their National Insurance helpline.
You can also request your employment history from HMRCOpens in a new window if you’re not sure where you worked and the dates you worked there.
There are lots of tips for finding old pension pots in our article Find my lost pension: tracing and finding lost pensions.
What to do with your Defined Contribution pension
For some, their COPE amount would have been paid into a Defined Contribution (DC) pension. This is a pot of money for you to decide what to do with once you’re over 55 years old.
This means that the actual pension amount you might get will depend on factors such as investment performance, fees you are charged, and the choices you make when you decide to access the pot.
It’s different from a Defined Benefit (DB) pension, which you might know as a ‘final salary’ pension where you get an income for life, instead.
Pension Wise is a free service for over 50s who have a Defined Contribution pension. In your appointment an expert will discuss your options, so you can understand the choices you have when you come to withdraw from your pension.
You can find out more about your pension choices in our tool Explore your pension options.
If your COPE amount was paid into a Defined Benefit pension
If you were in a contracted-out Defined Benefit (DB) scheme, you and your employer paid a slightly lower rate of National Insurance contributions. This is because neither you nor your employer contributed to the Additional State Pension.
If you were contracted out through a DB pension, the scheme would have to provide a minimum benefit known as 'Guaranteed Minimum Pension' (GMP), in place of the additional pension you were giving up.
How can I increase my State Pension if I’ve been contracted out?
If you were contracted out for a large portion of your working life, it might affect the amount of State Pension you’re entitled to. National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are made when you pay in by working, or can be earned through claiming certain benefits, including Child Benefit. If you were contracted out, you might need more qualifying years to get the most out of the State Pension.
Learn more about National Insurance credits on GOV.UKOpens in a new window
When there are gaps in your NI record, and you don’t already have the number of qualifying years that would entitle you to a full State Pension, it could be worth paying for Voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICs).
You can check how many years you have in your National Insurance recordOpens in a new window
It’s always possible to buy VNICs for any gaps from the last six years, but until April 2025 you can pay for gaps for as far back as 2006.
Our guide about Voluntary National Insurance Contributions has more information to help you decide if it’s worth paying to make up any gaps in your record.