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Your guide to State Pension top ups
As of October 2014, if you were a man aged 64 or older or a woman aged 62 or older and you reached the State Pension age before 6 April 2016, you would be able to increase your State Pension by up to £25 per week by making a lump sum contribution.
The scheme remained open for 18 months and gave people the chance to obtain inflation-proofed additional State Pension worth up to £1,300 a year.
With the help of the Department for Work and Pensions, we bring you the answers to those all-important questions on State Pension top up.
How long will the extra payments continue and what about inflation?
- The extra pension from topping up will last for the lifetime of the person who contributes and may be inheritable by a surviving spouse or civil partner.
- The payments from State Pension top up are linked to the Consumer Price Index to protect them against inflation.
How much did a person need to contribute to top up their State Pension?
How much a person needed to contribute depended on two things:
- How much extra pension they wanted to get each week.
- How old they were when they made the contribution – the older the person was when they applied, the lower the lump sum contribution. You can find out how much a person needed to contribute by using this calculator.
What about inheritance?
Spouses or civil partners can, in most cases, inherit between 50% and 100% of a top up should their partner die before them. State Pension top up is inherited under the same rules as additional State Pension. For more information on inheriting additional State Pension click here.
Is State Pension top up right for everyone?
The State Pension top up is not necessarily right for everyone - it really depends on individual circumstances:
Making a State Pension top up contribution could affect any income-related benefits a person is receiving (for example, Pension Credit). For more information on this, click here.
It may not be suitable for those who are in poor health or with lower life expectancy.
Where can I get more information?
For general information, visit the main webpage for State Pension top up here.
To register for email updates on State Pension top up, send an email to: [email protected]
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