Are State Pension payments split between FY25/26 and FY26/27?

greyhoundwalker

Before I make a fool of myself speaking to HMRC, does anyone know if my NSP payment of £921 due on 01/04/26 counts fully as 25/26 income, or is it just 5/28ths of it, with the remaining counted in FY26/27?

DRS1

Isn't the state pension paid in arrears? If so then all that figure will be in 25/6. Of course you may find your tax return pre-populated with a completely different figure! Based on entitlement not receipt.

greyhoundwalker

Yes! Now that you mention it, I think you're correct. Many thanks @DRS1

molerat

Pension is paid in arrears and 1 April is in the 2025 - 26 tax year.

Plus your payment on 29 April will not be £965.20 (4 x £241.30) but £954.15 as the week commencing 6 April will still be at the old rate because the uprated pension is paid from the first Monday after 6 April so 13th.

badmemory

Please bear in mind what molerat has said about the amount of state pension due in the tax year. You will need to check this is correct as mine has not been correct in the 14 years I have been receiving it. So 1wk old rate + 51wks at new rate.

greyhoundwalker

Thanks all. This was actually the smallest of my worries with what HMRC seem to assume my income to be. They are vastly overestimating it, but I thought it best to try and understand this little one before delving further.

This may need a new thread, but at the moment, my most pressing issue is that they estimate my income for this FY from my 3 private pensions (in payment since 2020) to be almost double what it actually is (estimate c£15200, actual £8221) But they show the correct amounts individually for each of the 3 pensions, so I can't understand how they've arrived at the larger amount and can't see how I can correct it myself. I've been in receipt of my NSP since Nov this year which has resulted in tax now being deducted from one of my 3 private pensions. However, the amount of tax being deducted each month seems to bear no relation to what they say I owe overall for this FY.

Then, as I can now see their figures for FY26/27, in which my total NSP and private pension income will total c£20700, they say my tax-free amount will be minus £1237. My only other income will be savings interest which by moving some into an ISA, will be under the £1000 allowance.

Maybe I'm missing something glaringly obvious, but on my fairly modest income, I hope not!

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888815#Comment_81888815

Could you share some screenshots of what it is you are seeing (without your Personal details like name and NINO)?

Could the £15,200 be your 3 private pensions and your State Pension added together? Or maybe with your taxable interest added in as well?

A K code is quite normal these days given the level of new State Pension most people are entitled to.

Was the interest more than £1,000 in the last tax year banks will have reported info to HMRC for (2024/25)?

Tax is all about the detail and there is a bit lacking at the moment to be able to decipher what is happening.

greyhoundwalker

Yes, my first thought was that they may have added my NSP onto the 3 private pensions. But no, that only adds-up to £13000.

I did do quite a bit of rate-chasing over the past 12 months, so money was coming into my current account from one savings account, then out to a new savings account. So I thought maybe they thought it was new money, but that's probably unlikely.

I'll have to trawl through my past accounts to see what interest I previously earned, so will do that tomorrow and post some screenshots.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81889171#Comment_81889171

I wouldn't worry too much about the interest, the latest information HMRC could have at the moment is from 2024/25.

Banks don't start sending the information for 2025/26 for another 6 weeks or so, at the very earliest.

Annemos

I had to make a Complaint to Inland Rev last year about an issue with untaxed interest.

But what was excellent, is that it made them send me a FULL tax calculation of how they actually work out my tax each year.

And I noted that our State pension is simply taken as 52 X our new weekly amount.

Thus 26-27 taxable pension will be 52 x "the new amount we get in that letter that has just come out giving our new weekly amount".

And 25-26 is 52 x last year's amount in that letter.

There is no proration for part months and actual dates of payment and when exactly we hit retirement age etc etc. I had a think about this and believe it all catches itself up in the end! And it is much easier this way.

greyhoundwalker

In FY24/25 my private pension income totalled 8075 and I earned 2385 savings interest so a total income of 10460 (or 10858 including 398 interest from an ISA). I assumed I was entitled to the 5000 starting rate for savings. I also received an inheritance of 17355.

Come the end of FY25/26 private pension income will be 8221, NSP 4779, interest excluding ISA 1125, giving a total of 14125.

FY26/27 private pension income will be 8221, NSP 12536 and max interest excluding ISA 1000, giving a max total of 21757.

HMRC Screengrabs today…..

Clicking "View underpayments" gives this page showing £25.02 …..

Monthly tax deductions of 12.80 from one of my private pensions started in November, so by the end of this FY I'll have paid 64.

The detailed Income Tax estimate shows….

Then I look at their estimates for FY26/27….

All of which has left me somewhat bemused and concerned. Need I be?