State Pension - Weekly or Four Weekly

Flugelhorn

Linton said:

I want and take my SP 4-weekly.  Weekly is a bit more effort for record keeping and having been used to living on a monthly salary I see no need to go to weekly.  Annuities and DB pensions pay monthly and dividends are mostly paid at the end of a month so why would you want something different for SP?

Perhaps if you are living on a hand-to-mouth basis, and have done so all your life, switching to 4-weekly could be difficult.

the SP being paid 4 weekly and not monthly is the bit that feels odd. I get my NHS pension on the same day of the month each month but the SP just gradually creeps forward until you get 2 in one calendar month.

Just checked the link @Ayr_Rage posted, it is indeed quite easy to change it there. (well they give you the option, presume it would work!) 

Silvertabby

Horses for courses.  All of our pensions (3 each, including State) initially go into our joint account, so 4 weekly payments work for us.

None of us have made the 'wrong' choice.

Stubod

..just persuaded Mrs Stubod to change to weekly....after a bit of "pain" with the credit check questions we managed to set up an online pension account and changed it using that, probably quicker than trying to phone them!!

Qyburn

Ayr_Rage said:

The default is every 4 weeks and cannot be changed during the initial claim.

Once you have had the acknowledgement letter after claiming you can register for https://www.manage-state-pension.service.gov.uk/ and change your payment preference online.

If you claim by phone it can be set as weekly from the start.

Qyburn

Linton said:

Annuities and DB pensions pay monthly and dividends are mostly paid at the end of a month so why would you want something different for SP?

The point, for some of us at least, is that four weekly is different.

barnstar2077

Yes,Qyburn said:

Linton said:

Annuities and DB pensions pay monthly and dividends are mostly paid at the end of a month so why would you want something different for SP?

The point, for some of us at least, is that four weekly is different.

Yeah, four weekly is just weird!  :  )

I don't want to have to have a buffer, I want every penny I am not spending that month working for me.

eskbanker

cloud_dog said:

I am a number of years away from collecting it, but as all our discretionary spending goes on a CC and paid off monthly, I would think it would be a bit of a pain managing the weekly deposits, so am likely to go 4 weekly.

As mentioned above, each to their own.

As you rightly say, each to their own, but out of curiosity, in what way would it be a bit of a pain managing weekly deposits, i.e. what managing would they involve?

poseidon1

Qyburn said:

Ayr_Rage said:

The default is every 4 weeks and cannot be changed during the initial claim.

Once you have had the acknowledgement letter after claiming you can register for https://www.manage-state-pension.service.gov.uk/ and change your payment preference online.

If you claim by phone it can be set as weekly from the start.

Yes, I found that by phoning early last year, they were able to switch me from fortnightly ( set up in error by a previous officer) to weekly, which took take effect the following week. 
Fortnightly is an option reserved for those who were previously receiving another state benefit on that basis. 

In my case,  the entirety  of my income ( other than state pension)  is untaxed investment income   received either  half yearly, quarterly , or monthly. On this basis the modest state pension on a weekly basis, nicely fills the gaps.

Albermarle

Qyburn said:

I'm not sure I could face working out, but I *think* that every four weeks you'd have earned 3 weeks interest on the first weekly payment, two weeks on the second and one week on the third. 

As you say for each four week period, you gain 6 weeks interest on £221.20

If it goes into a 5% interest account, and you leave it there until the end of the four week period, then the gain is around £16.50 per year ( minus tax if applicable) and less if interest rated drop.

I am presuming that the income tax on the pension does not change, if it is being paid 'early'/weekly, as I think it is calculated monthly and on the basis of entitlement rather than actual payments.  Even if it was only a small change it might wipe out the interest benefit.

cloud_dog

eskbanker said:

cloud_dog said:

I am a number of years away from collecting it, but as all our discretionary spending goes on a CC and paid off monthly, I would think it would be a bit of a pain managing the weekly deposits, so am likely to go 4 weekly.

As mentioned above, each to their own.

As you rightly say, each to their own, but out of curiosity, in what way would it be a bit of a pain managing weekly deposits, i.e. what managing would they involve?

Once all the bills go out of the account (1st to the 3rd of each month), we literally keep a balance of anywhere between 50p and £10 in the account(s).  All discretionary spending goes on CCs which is one of the bills on the 1st each month.

So long/short, I'd have to remember to sweep the weekly deposits (well probably 3 of them) into the savings account ready for withdrawal on the 30th.