State pension payments will come through early next week - check if you

State pension payments require at least 10 years of National Insurance contributions to be paid by the claimant, with 35 years needed for the full amount of £175.20 per week. When it is claimed, the payments will usually arrive every four weeks.

For those who would normally see their payments come through on this date, they should actually arrive on December 24.

Beyond this, the next bank holiday falls on January 1.

State pensions themselves can only be claimed when a person reaches their state pensin age.

The state pension age is currently sitting at 66 for most people but in the coming years it will be raised to 68.

Initial payments may take up to five weeks to arrive.

In 2021, state pension payments will increase by 2.5 percent under triple lock rules.

This means full payments will rise to £179.60 in April 2021.

Increases will also be seen for those on the basic state pension and pension credit claimants.