State Pension annual increase date

jem16

I have recently found out that the state pension rises on the first Monday of the new tax year as opposed to the 6th April.

Does anyone know why this is the case?

xylophone

I think it's just convention that the first day of the new rate is  the first Monday of the new tax year.

p00hsticks

I don;t know, but I suspect it's simply a hangover from when the State Pension was originally introduced - there used to be (and perhaps still is ?) an anomoly where you didn't actually get your State Pension from the day you reached State Pension age, but rather from the next weekly pay period. I know that nowadays people get paid their state pensions staggered to pay on different days of the week, depending on their NI number, and by default only paid every four weeks, but I can remember when you used to be able to tell it was Thursday (?) by the queue of pensioners outside the Post Office at 9am all waiting to collect their weekly pension

xylophone

Some history here.

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00260/SN00260.pdf

jem16

Thanks both. Looks like it is a throwback to 1984 at least when state pension payday was a Monday (prior to that was a Thursday apparently) and only paid from then on reaching SPA. Now of course it's different and paid according to the last 2 figures of your NI number but probably kept the Monday increase day so everyone was the same.

marlot

p00hsticks said:

... but I can remember when you used to be able to tell it was Thursday (?) by the queue of pensioners outside the Post Office at 9am all waiting to collect their weekly pension

Post Office cash handling was a significant business within the post office group.  There was a big focus on making sure there was enough cash in branches ready for Thursday.

Hallux

They have told me my increase is from 16th April 2022 i.e. 10 days after start of tax year!  (and a Saturday)

My payment day is Friday so I would have expected it from Friday 8th April or Saturday 9th ... or at worst Monday 11th April like my wife (whose payment day is Wednesday) ... and everybody else?

But from this late?   How can it be justified?

jem16

Hallux said:

They have told me my increase is from 16th April 2022 i.e. 10 days after start of tax year!  (and a Saturday)

My payment day is Friday so I would have expected it from Friday 8th April or Saturday 9th ... or at worst Monday 11th April like my wife (whose payment day is Wednesday) ... and everybody else?

But from this late?   How can it be justified?

The increase is FROM w/b 11th April as it's always the first Monday of the new tax year.

Your payment day is a Friday so your increase will begin on Saturday 16th April as you have been informed. State pensions are always paid in whole weeks so that's the beginning of your first whole week after the rise takes effect.

As your wife's payment day is a Wednesday you will probably find that her increase is actually paid from Thursday the 14th April.

In other years your increase will happen earlier as it just depends on when that first Monday is.

Is it fair or can it be justified? Possibly not but it is in the regulations of how state pensions are paid.

molerat

Mine was due 15th April and was 4 old, MrsM due 18th April was 3 old 1 new (both paid 14th April due to Easter)

xylophone

A couple receiving old SP on weekly basis (wife in advance, husband in arrears) received first payment at new rate on 11/4  and 19/4 respectively.

jem16

xylophone said:

A couple receiving old SP on weekly basis (wife in advance, husband in arrears) received first payment at new rate on 11/4  and 19/4 respectively.

Assuming the husband's state pension payday was a Monday?