State Pension

I would certainly give them a call. I'm due mine in October but received my invitation to claim last week. Claimed on Monday and received my notice of pension amount on Thursday - amazing! Hope you get it sorted.

You can check your pension on line here.

www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

You can login to the government gateway and check. I only got a part payment for the first one, then it caught up.

X posts Shandy!

When I got mine I thought that it would be paid in four-week tranches (posh word for chunks ), in arrears. But they gave me the option of receiving it weekly or four-weekly, and I chose to receive it weekly. I find that a very good arrangement.

Oh, I didn't know that you could opt for weekly pension payments StarDreamer, that would have suited me better than 4 weekly.

If I have got this right, years ago, people could either collect their pension weekly in cash from a Post Office, or they could have it paid into a bank account and possibly to a Building Society account four-weekly in arrears. So to go from collecting to into a bank account meant going without State Pension income for several weeks.

Then the government wanted to try to reduce money being paid out in cash at Post Offices. I don't know why, perhaps to avoid the fees to pay for that to be done, but quite possibly to avoid quite large tranches of cash being delivered to, and at, small, vulnerable, village Post Ofices across the country.

So perhaps offering direct payment to a bank account every week was the only realistic way to achieve that wthout causing cash flow problems for many elderly people.

Though I suppose that they could have made it that all new pensioners got it to a bank accounr four weekly in arrears.

I was quite surprised to get the offer. I had envisaged a strange sort of effect of money from the State Pension arriving every four weeks and money from my occupational pension arriving every calendar month, so sometimes both at about the same time and some a fortnight or so apart and at various short and long gaps between them as time went by.

Chewbacca

Oh, I didn't know that you could opt for weekly pension payments StarDreamer, that would have suited me better than 4 weekly.

I suppose that they might change it if you ask them.

We get ours paid in weekly and it is very handy. Also it comes early when there is a bank holiday.

A year and a bit into my SP, I'd prefer to get it monthly, the same as my other pension, it would help my brain get itself round what I have available when. I don't think that's an option, though, as far as I can see.

Calculations are complicated by SP being paid every four weeks, occupational pension and annuity every calendar month, all on different days. However, I am too glad to have it to grumble!

There is an advantage to the four weekly payment of SP - once a year (September for me, 2nd and 30th) you’ll get two lots….?

I qualified for mine recently. I applied four months before the due date as invited. Ordinarily that should give DWP ample time to process your claim so that it's paid from your birthday.

It took ten months to process mine. They said the delay was due to a Covid backlog of work. It was backdated of course but still paid six months later than it should have been.

I would give it until the end of June and then give DWP a call.

Pantglas2

There is an advantage to the four weekly payment of SP - once a year (September for me, 2nd and 30th) you’ll get two lots….?

And there is a similar advantage to having it weekly, at least four times in a year one gets five payments in a calendar month!

Chew, I do believe you might be able to change to weekly now if it would still suit you better.

I got my invitation code four months before my 66th birthday last month, applied online and had an email then a letter a few days later. Payable from the Monday after my birthday (which was on a Saturday), first payment will be this Tuesday for the part-month, then 4-weekly thereafter. There’s no option on the application to ask for weekly payments instead of 4-weekly but you can ring them, jump through a few hoops before you get to speak to a human, and they’ll alter it. Can also be paid every 13 weeks by request.

Thank you all, I will be ringing DWP this week. I have a twin sister and her claim was dealt with within days. Can't believe they are still blaming covid for delays.

I was like you Edge. Applied in February and heard nothing. First partial payment due in July, next August. I phoned 2 weeks ago and got my letter last week with the dates and amount. I was 66 on June 22nd.

I’ve just got my first payment, a part payment as expected but my tax coding hasn’t changed and I know it should as I have an occupational pension also so I’m already owing the tax man. I thought I wouldn’t have to do anything and it would be automatic but obviously not. Don’t fancy trying to ring HMRC.

@Abitbarmy I have always found calls.to HMRC are answered by knowledgeable and helpful staff they have saved me quite a bit. I avoid ringing on Mondays and first thing in the morning as that is there busy times

Thank you all who replied. I did finally receive my letter stating what my pension would be etc, but wonder if I had'nt have called the DWP would it have slipped the net so to speak?,