Deferred State Pension application - why the insistence re 4 Months?

MoneyPot123

I posted the completed relevant form re the above subject. Received a letter from the Wolverhampton office stating I'd applied too early. Oh, by one week. That was it - no forms returned, no advice, no personal name given by the brainiac who sent the letter (which is beyond infuriating). Fortunately I took photos of all the pages.

So, I've tried googling the mindset behind this stipulation but I can't really find an answer. Can anyone out there please enlighten me? Thanks in advance.

molerat

The old pension claim form guidance has the following

Time limits
We can accept your claim if it is received no earlier than 4 months before the date you wish to get State Pension,

greatkingrat

I guess you have to draw a line somewhere. If forms are submitted a long time in advance, it runs the risk of things changing between the form being filled out, and the pension being paid.

squirrelpie

Not to mention reduces the possibility of extreme ups and downs in workload as people respond to scare stories in the press etc.

p00hsticks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896175#Comment_81896175

I agree. And as a previous poster has pointed out, four months neatly ties in with the timescale used for the initial communication and application when a person first reached State Pension Age.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656580/deferred-state-pension-application-why-the-insistence-re-4-months

What timescale doo you think it should be and why?

DRS1

More to the point what are the consequences of applying early? Do you need to do it all again?

german_keeper

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656580/deferred-state-pension-application-why-the-insistence-re-4-months

I assume the reason there was no name on the letter is this would be the sort of simple decision that doesn't require intervention.

It's likely the claim form went through Rapid Data Capture and the date of receipt would be compared to the date of birth and the whole thing would then be automated. Having said that I'm a bit surprised that the letter doesn't actually include the name of the director or some such high ranking official at the bottom.

Marcon

That was it - no forms returned, no advice, no personal name given by the brainiac who sent the letter (which is beyond infuriating). 

Having said that I'm a bit surprised that the letter doesn't actually include the name of the director or some such high ranking official at the bottom.

Why is it infuriating? Standard practice in large organisations. Many used to give a made up name and job title, only to find that when people rang and found 'xxxx' wasn't available the caller was insistent that they absolutely had to speak to xxxx and nobody else. Giving a real person…well, you can imagine the outcome!

Not sure why you'd need to speak to anyone in any case. You knew it was four months and chose not to follow the stipulated procedure - so just repeat the process once you are within the four month window.