State Pension

I was contacted by DWP a few months before pension was due to start. Another word of warning about deferring is that if you die - your state pension dies with you -so, I went with ‘a bird in the hand’.

X post -Suzy42

The rules for deferring state pension changed in 2016.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/state-pensions/

Yes I can see where you're coming from growstuff but, in my circumstances, I'd have paid a hell of a lot of tax if I'd claimed my SRP whilst I was working. Horses for courses.

JenniferEccles

Just as a sideline, have you considered deferring your pension for a few years?
Unless the rules have changed recently, it is certainly worth considering if you could manage without it as it increases for every year you defer.
Then when you do claim it, you will get the increased rate for the rest of your life.
With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had waited as we don’t actually need it for day to day living.

I was too excited though at the thought of that money magically appearing in my bank account each month!

The additional amount you got for deferring was greater with the old pension which was less generous overall than the new pension. I think I worked out I'd have to live nearly another 20 years to be better off as although it increases you miss out on all the payments while you defer. Not that I had a choice as I couldn't afford to retire on my other pensions and was desperate to leave my job. I did work a little beyond 66 but claimed my pension as soon as I could. They only add for each full 9 weeks you work beyond your retirement age and I needed to leave after about 7 weeks so no use to me. If I live to a ripe old age I may regret leaving when I did but that will be a bonus in other ways as long as I stay well and independent. Hopefully downsizing will give me far more than I could have received in extra pension.

Actually just worked it out again and it takes 17.24 years to recoup a year's deferred pension at 5.8%. So if I'd deferred for a year I'd have to live to 83+ to be better off. Since my DM lived to 81 that seems about even odds to me!

I phoned to make sure they'd received my claim which I believe I'd made by post a few months earlier. Mind you, I had to hang on for a good half hour and was on the point of giving up when a human being finally answered but it's worth persevering. So, do keep on - it's due to you after all, in more ways than one.

Chewbacca

Yes I can see where you're coming from growstuff but, in my circumstances, I'd have paid a hell of a lot of tax if I'd claimed my SRP whilst I was working. Horses for courses.

That's what I said. You would have paid (presumably) 40% tax on your state pension, but possibly only 20% after giving up work. It's very possible you're still out of pocket, although it depends whether you reached state pension age before or after 2016.

A friend of mine has just started claiming state pension. He intends to carry on working to at least 70 and pays 40% tax. We sat down and worked it all out. Even though he will lose 40% of his pension in tax, he's still better off claiming it now, unless he can guarantee living to 100, which obviously he can't.

That's what I worked out too jocork.

I claimed mine lasy year, i do have a smart phone but did not need it. I rang up then i went online the form was so easy. I didnt need any proof of id. Having said that im a widow so was claiming widows pension so they just changed it over. The only difference being that its now monthly and my wp was 2 weeklý.
Keep trying, my friend got a lovely lump sum after having hers delayed by mix ups. Beware you are taxed on it.

I did the same as Chewbacca. Also, I was offered a lump sum or to add to my pension. After doing my sums I worked out I’d be better off adding to my pension. My financial advisor agreed.

I am due my pension in 11 months, how soon before do you have to start the process of claiming it?

My husband turned 66 2 days ago. He looked online about a month ago. He is going to get a small amount for August and then his proper amount in September.
Can't understand why he is not getting more for August as his birthday was 3rd. ??
He is not getting as much state pension as you might imagine, given his working life, because as a teacher he was contracted out by the Teacherspensions scheme.
It all changed in 2016 but he retired in 2015.

Please don’t defer your pension. Spoke with the HMRC recently about this. And they confirmed that…… one year of not getting your pension takes (if I remember correctly ) 13 years to recoup that one year. It’s just not worth it and this was the departments own words.

Edge26….. you can contact them 4 months before your 66th birthday.

JenniferEccles

Just as a sideline, have you considered deferring your pension for a few years?
Unless the rules have changed recently, it is certainly worth considering if you could manage without it as it increases for every year you defer.
Then when you do claim it, you will get the increased rate for the rest of your life.
With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had waited as we don’t actually need it for day to day living.

I was too excited though at the thought of that money magically appearing in my bank account each month!

I'd heard about deferring your pension, but I also read that, heaven forbid, if anything happened to you before you started claiming the backdated pension, your family / estate wouldn't see a penny of it! So when my time comes I think I will just claim it.

Ginpin

My husband turned 66 2 days ago. He looked online about a month ago. He is going to get a small amount for August and then his proper amount in September.
Can't understand why he is not getting more for August as his birthday was 3rd. ??
He is not getting as much state pension as you might imagine, given his working life, because as a teacher he was contracted out by the Teacherspensions scheme.
It all changed in 2016 but he retired in 2015.

The day of the month he is paid his state pension depends on his National Insurance number. The first payment is backdated from the payment date to the date of 66th birthday. It will be paid every four weeks after that.

Bea0802

I did the same as Chewbacca. Also, I was offered a lump sum or to add to my pension. After doing my sums I worked out I’d be better off adding to my pension. My financial advisor agreed.

Was your state pension age before 2016? If it was, that's why. The rules have changed since then. Are you talking about the state pension or a private pension? They operate completely differently.

It really isn't worth deferring for the vast majority of people.

I had a letter from DWP today answering a query I raised on the phone at least 3 months ago. The wheels grind slowly....

I found it a very simple, straightforward procedure. They wrote to tell me to claim via the site. I had already registered on the website as I'd looked at my prediction. Put in the claim and received a confirmation by post within about a week.

Yes, you can work out the cost of deferral yourself, and Grannygrumps1 (love the name!) that may apply to you, but not to everyone. So many factors - the age at which you can claim, the amount you can claim etc.
For some years, interest rates were very low. So, if you claimed but didn't need it, and put it straight into savings, you wouldn't get so much interest. Now interest rates are going up - probably not enough to be significant, but it is another factor.
Also, obviously, is the age at which you expect to die! I did a rough calculation based on average life expectancy in my area, adjusted for family factors.
I quite like doing all the calculations, but I do see that some wouldn't!

I deferred as I was still working for 7 months and it would have pushed me into higher rate tax. I have now been retired long enough to be benefitting from that decision. It is a gamble, but my parents both lived to a great age, so it was worth it for me.

Chimaera

JenniferEccles

Just as a sideline, have you considered deferring your pension for a few years?
Unless the rules have changed recently, it is certainly worth considering if you could manage without it as it increases for every year you defer.
Then when you do claim it, you will get the increased rate for the rest of your life.
With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had waited as we don’t actually need it for day to day living.

I was too excited though at the thought of that money magically appearing in my bank account each month!

I'd heard about deferring your pension, but I also read that, heaven forbid, if anything happened to you before you started claiming the backdated pension, your family / estate wouldn't see a penny of it! So when my time comes I think I will just claim it.

Actually you can "inherit" a partner's extra pension when you start claiming your own as long as you don't remarry.

But I still don't think this makes it worth it.

Scottiebear

I found it a very simple, straightforward procedure. They wrote to tell me to claim via the site. I had already registered on the website as I'd looked at my prediction. Put in the claim and received a confirmation by post within about a week.

Same here. Very easy. Register with Gateway first though.

petera.
You possibly mean getting a widow’s pension? Not sure if this is a standard amount - but DWP awarded me an additional £60 every four weeks, after DH died.

I received my invitation in the post about half an hour ago. My pension is due in December. It took about 5 minutes to claim on the website and I got an email back straight away to say that my application had been received. Lets hope that the rest of the process is as straightforward as this!