Pictured above: Kevin Jenkins, Independent Financial Adviser, Key Financial Management

Women approaching retirement age are being encouraged to find out if they are entitled to the full state pension and if not, to consider boosting their entitlement.

Traditionally many women have missed out on state pension money because they have been unable to build up a full record of contributions due to taking time out to have children or because they have been carers of elderly relatives.

However, changes to the system from next April will mean both men and women will only need 30 years of national insurance contributions to get a full basic pension, rather than the current 44 for men and 39 for women. In addition to this women will also be allowed to top up their contributions.

Kevin Jenkins of Midlands based IFA firm Key Financial Management explains the options available to women to boost their retirement income: "Firstly make sure you know the exact date when you can get your state pension from, as this is changing for women. Then find out how much state pension you have built up by getting your own state pension forecast. You will then be in a position to explore your options. You can think about working beyond state pension age as you won't pay national insurance so you'll take home more money each month. You can consider putting off drawing from your state pension as this could boost your money in retirement. Finally you could look at whether buying extra national insurance contributions would give you a bigger pension."

In 2009-2010, the full basic state pension is £95.25 a week for a single person and £152.30 a week for a couple, but your individual circumstances may affect the amount you get.