To receive the full basic state pension, currently paid at £77.45 a week, a man needs to have paid national insurance contributions (NICs) for 44 years, and a woman needs to have paid NICs for 39 years.

The retirement age for women born after 5 April 1950 will be extended to 65 by 2020, so they may have to work for longer to receive their full state pension.

If you have taken time out of work for study or you have worked overseas, your eventual basic state pension may be reduced. You can make up a contributions gap of up to six missing years by paying voluntary class 3 NICs, but is it worth it? The voluntary NICs will only provide entitlement to the basic state pension and not to the state second pension (S2P), or its predecessor, SERPS.

A wife can receive up to 60% of the basic state pension based on her husband's NICs, but this pension will generally only be paid when the husband reaches 65.

Since 1978, individuals who care for children or the disabled instead of earning a wage, can claim "home responsibilities protection". This reduces the number of contribution years required to qualify for the basic state pension. Before April 2002 it did not provide entitlement to S2P/SERPS.

As you can see, the state pension provision is not straightforward. You can get an idea of what you will receive by completing the form BR19 from the Pensions Service (part of the Department for Work and Pensions).

Once you have this forecast, we can help you decide on the most efficient way to fill any gaps in your pension provision.