Claiming State Pension

BLB53

I have not been impressed by the pension service at DWP so yes, apply online asap and then chase things up by phone at least one month before the start date to make sure you get your award notice. My general impression is they are short staffed and firefighting to just deal with what absolutely needs attention at the last minute.

uk1

I think the 14 days is not after submitting the form but 14 days before your planned retirement date.

We were told a month or so ago that our online applications had been received and were in process and we are now within 14 days of the requested start date. I’m going to wait until the payments were due then call them as I cannot face the telephone wait so soon after the last one.

brewerdave

Martlea wrote: »

In theory claiming state pension on-line should be simple and effective. In practice the DWP computer systems seem to be notoriously bad and in my case after negotiating the torturous Government Gateway process, it self a lesson in how to over complicate a process, I managed to register and receive my ID, logged in an finally got to submit my claim. Of course I heard nothing further.
So shortly before my expected pension payment date I phoned the DWP, navigated the absurd telephone menu systems and spoke to a person who blankly informed me no claim from me has been received and would I care to claim now!
Of course I re-submitted my claim and must now wait again in limbo for the confirmation letter and payment date/amount etc.
So if you also submit an on-line claim do note where is tells you to phone them after 14 days if you don't get a DWP confirmation letter or this is likely to happen to you. By the way trying to complain is another huge waste of time as well.

On another recent thread that I started re claiming deferred pension online, it was suggested by one poster that many online claims had been lost late last year due to a change in the DWP systems. Looks like you are an example of that!!
As an aside ,the phone queues are still horrendous :mad:

uk1

They were still available online as late as January.

If a commerical pensions organisation provided the service levels of DWP then the government would legislate to bring them into line.

ibizafan_2

Phoned this morning at 8am to check on the progress of my postal claim for a deferred state pension and got straight through! A very helpful person said that I was on track to get my first payment starting from April 3rd, although the deferred part will take a further five weeks as it is sent to a ‘specialist’ unit to calculate, and then an offer is made by post with the figures for the lump sum and the extra pension. At last I feel as if I am getting somewhere.

uk1

ibizafan wrote: »

Phoned this morning at 8am to check on the progress of my postal claim for a deferred state pension and got straight through! A very helpful person said that I was on track to get my first payment starting from April 3rd, although the deferred part will take a further five weeks as it is sent to a ‘specialist’ unit to calculate, and then an offer is made by post with the figures for the lump sum and the extra pension. At last I feel as if I am getting somewhere.

Had you received the 14 day letter prior to your 3rd April first payment?

Out of interest is your deferred pension have a start date of 3rd April as well?

seven-day-weekend

I claimed mine by phone a few months before my birthday and asked for it to be paid weekly. The advisor was very helpful and told me how much it was going to be and when the first payment would be. It happened exactly as she said.

This was in early 2010 (I was one of the last to be able to claim it at 60 ) - I expect it is not as straightforward now. Good luck to all claiming.

ibizafan_2

The only letter I have received was sent with the return of my marriage certificate, which said that the application should be dealt with within ten days. As the ten days had passed, I decided to ring to check on progress. Not sure about the start date of the deferred part if I’ve got to wait a further five weeks for the offer. Surely it should be backdated to April 3rd, but we shall see.

uk1

ibizafan wrote: »

The only letter I have received was sent with the return of my marriage certificate, which said that the application should be dealt with within ten days. As the ten days had passed, I decided to ring to check on progress. Not sure about the start date of the deferred part if I!!!8217;ve got to wait a further five weeks for the offer. Surely it should be backdated to April 3rd, but we shall see.

Thanks, I was just wondering how many people currently actually receive the 14 day letter.

Also I believe you might have been slightly better off having your pension start on the 5th April rather than 3rd, as the defferal calculation would then have been based on the higher pension figure. It might be worth your while considering this and if you agree call and change it.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=74036768&postcount=48

Pollycat

Martlea wrote: »

In theory claiming state pension on-line should be simple and effective. In practice the DWP computer systems seem to be notoriously bad and in my case after negotiating the torturous Government Gateway process, it self a lesson in how to over complicate a process, I managed to register and receive my ID, logged in an finally got to submit my claim. Of course I heard nothing further.
So shortly before my expected pension payment date I phoned the DWP, navigated the absurd telephone menu systems and spoke to a person who blankly informed me no claim from me has been received and would I care to claim now!
Of course I re-submitted my claim and must now wait again in limbo for the confirmation letter and payment date/amount etc.
So if you also submit an on-line claim do note where is tells you to phone them after 14 days if you don't get a DWP confirmation letter or this is likely to happen to you. By the way trying to complain is another huge waste of time as well.

I received a letter from DWP regarding my state pension (due in 3-4 months)
It had clear instructions on how to claim which I followed yesterday.
It took me less than 5 minutes and I received a reference number confirmation immediately.