state pension claim

2014

I rang the pension department to claim and discuss possible deferral on my state pension that will be paid in November 2014
The department did not have the up to date information to clarify the tax year for 2013/2014.
hence the department could not give me accurate figures of the amount of pension I will get.
I rang the H/M department who said they could not give any up to date figures as it appears they are in back log.
However that really does not help me as I needed to make a decision re financial/tax implications planning on weather or not to defer or draw my state pension.


help anyone on how to get my actual state pension figure ASAP ?

greenglide

So you are within 4 months and 4 days of SPA? If so you cannot use the online pensions forecast service.

Have you received the invitation to claim letter from DWP yet?

The should be able to tell you how much you are entitled to for your contributions up to April 2013 but the information for April 2014 may not be available yet (Final Relevant Year data). This is normal and a claim made at this time would be reassessed when the FRY data becomes available and the arrears will be paid.

The additional year is unlikely to make a significant difference unless you are not contracted out and your income during 2013/14 is large.

If you know what your earnings are for 2013 / 14 it is possible to calculate what the Additional Pension is accrued and this can be added to the figure they have given you.

2014

Thanks for reply money saving stalwart.

jamesd

The payment without 2013/14 is unlikely to be more than £3 a week less than with 2013/14 and the difference could well be lower than that.

£3 is very roughly what a person earning at the higher rate threshold (really the upper accrual point) would get for an extra year if they didn't already have 30 years towards the basic state pension. If they already have 30 years then the difference is unlikely to be more than £1.30 a week.

Numbers here are from some checks back in 2012 that I've increased a little to allow for inflation-linked increases. Not exact but good enough for most practical planning purposes.

2014

Thanks Jamesd.
Yes that was explained, yes you are correct. What could not be given was the extra state pension figure.

jamesd

The exact amount can't be given but if you know it as of last year it can't be more than £1.30 or so a week more because that's the maximum that the calculation can produce for one more year's accrual.

2014

Thanks Jamesd.
Last year I had a forecast including extra state pension,graduated pension and the basic station pension of £129.
As it was a 2013 forecast it was based on 29 years of contributions.
With a for gone conclusion I would qualify for 30 years ending starting 2014.
However as with every thing else until I have an exact figure my plan to defer or not to defer are put on hold.
Thank you for reply.

jamesd

Since you didn't have 30 years already, if the year qualifies and your earned income was £14,700 it is certain that the extra year will get you at least £1.70 plus a couple of years of inflation increases on that because that's what £14,700 of qualifying income gets someone. And some extra up to about £1.10 plus some inflation adjustment based on pro-rated income between £14700 and £40040. Numbers are approximate from a couple of years ago.

I'm wondering just how close you are to higher rate income tax, since basic rate wouldn't be an issue. Actually, deferring is such a good deal that it doesn't really matter that much, deferring will probably be a win unless your life expectancy is lower than usual.

Since your income before deferring will be below the flat rate state pension level you are also a person who might benefit from the announced temporary option to buy extra years, provided you have at least normal life expectancy. This offer is of less value for those who are single or male and more value for those with a spouse or female. That is because those factors are ignored in setting the price but females on average live longer than males while it can be inheritable so those with a spouse get more than those without. The price of this will depend on age but since you can't do it yet you can't act at all to exploit being a little younger now than later.

2014

Thanks again Jamesd