A new report by Age UK has highlighted something many of us have been warning about for some time now: the new single tier flat rate pension is nothing of the sort.

Yes it’s new, and – absolutely – it’s a pension, but the rest of it is open to question. Indeed, anyone making any future plans for their retirement on the basis of earning what they think will be a circa £155 State Pension needs to make doubly sure this will be the case.

Firstly, it only applies to anyone starting to receive a pension after 6 April. If you are currently receiving a State Pension, you won’t find your current pension adjusted as a result of any changes.

Most critically, it might have a ceiling of £155 a week, but there is no floor. How much you receive will depend on how many years’ contributions you put in. Whereas the previous requirement for a full (albeit smaller) pension was 30 years, its now 35 years. For every year less than that, an amount will be docked off.

In fact, an estimated 63% of people will not be entitled to the new full State Pension as it stands. This will include many who did not make NI contributions for a number of years because their contributions were channelled into a private pension.

Anyone with less than 10 years’ contributions will get nothing at all, and that accounts for around 50,000 women and 20,000 men.

What you CAN do about this, if you have the resources, is top up a maximum of six years’ worth of contributions ahead of retiring – the return on investment is not bad as long as you live long enough to recoup the payments.

Longer term, you also need to be aware that those people who have been pumping more money into a second state pension won’t see any extra benefit: the £155 is the maximum compared to the current £275.

All ways round, it’s well worth the time and effort for anyone with retirement in prospect to check out where they stand. You can get your pension forecast by going to gov.uk/future-pension-centre or by calling 0345 300 0168.

Now check out the FREE financial planner that lets you take control of your future – and make the very most of your retirement years.