Gov Petition - Require all state pensions to be paid monthly

J63320

OK, you want payments switched to monthly. What does that actually mean? Everyone paid on the 1st? or the last working day? or on a day of their choice? and having chosen a date, could they change their mind later? So we’ve got ambiguity, and at least three options that different people might go for, and we’ve hardly started.
Sounds like a money-making scheme for some software provider. Maybe they’ll give it to Fujitsu.

MK62

If you remove the weekly option, how do you get around the issue of those currently being paid weekly (likely running to millions) having no money for several weeks until the new monthly SP hits their account...…the govt isn't likely to shift to paying the SP in advance.....

Aretnap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82054606#Comment_82054606

Same way your employer caters for leap years when paying your salary presumably - the state pension would be defined in terms of an annual rather than a weekly sum, and would be paid in 12 equal instalments. If it's a leap year your salary/pension just works out fractionally lower as a daily rate for that year. Most people seem to be able to cope with it.

That's surely how it would be arranged now if we were building a benefit system from the ground up, however I can see the argument that the costs of switching make it a case of "if I wanted to get there, I wouldn't start from here".

mrklaw

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055186#Comment_82055186

just monthly on the same day of the month you commenced your pension. if thats based on your birthday it’l spread naturally. What does 4 weekly do - let you choose or starting on your birthday? Just do the same thing.

I’ll have some FAD likely set to monthly income, so will my wife, I’ll also have a DB pension paying out monthly - then our state pensions doing this weird thing in the corner - can’t even know what day let alone if there might be two payments in a month. Basically I know I’ll end up considering the ‘four weekly’ as the ‘monthly’ payment and tucking the extra ones in savings. Thereby reducing our effective regular state pension by almost 10% each.

GunJack

Must admit I'm seriously considering going for weekly payments when I get there....I'll have one DB for all the monthly bills, another for the fun fund, so taking SP weekly for food, fuel, etc should mesh in nicely 😁

Would having the SP payment calendar monthly make much difference? No, so why spend the £millions (billions maybe?) to change the IT system just for this???

mrklaw

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055406#Comment_82055406

so you don’t even need the SP except for avocado on toast so it shouldn’t matter to anyone?

the large (majority?) of people that rely heavily on the state pension and need every £ - well maybe they are also living week to week and can’t even plan a month ahead, but it does feel like extra faff. And nobody is saying only.

recently my local council let us request monthly bills for council tax and it was very helpful in spreading costs a little bit (basically gave us a year without a visible rise) - doesn’t seem like it’d be that hard.

I’ll have a cash buffer anyway but with two of us getting state pension, I effectively need to lock away £2k in a cash buffer (1k each) to allow me to budget monthly with it, slowly drawing on the buffer until the extra payment comes in. Relatively easily doable but be nice not to have to

GunJack

Avocado on toast??? Don't you swear at me!! 🤣🤣

Mrs. G-J will also get a full SP, what do you suggest she does with that?!?!?!? Granola maybe??

finbaar

The State Pension is a weekly benefit. It cannot be paid monthly, for many of the reasons already stated. It would require a SIGNIFICANT change to the rules to apply it monthly. You can't just divide the yearly figure by 12 as it currently stands.

And, my thoughts anyway, if bills came weekly or 4 weekly, and the pension came monthly then there would be a reason to change the system. But monthly bills and more frequent payments? That sounds like a good thing. I can remember a very short period in my life when I was paid weekly in cash and I loved that. But 1984 is a very long time ago.

Nebulous2

I think the issue is largely about comfort zone, what people are used to and have become familiar with.

The UK is a bit of an anomaly in the English speaking world in having monthly pay. People in other countries often seem to be paid fortnightly.

A relative who was a shift worker was extremely unhappy getting moved from weekly to monthly pay. He had some weeks with a lot of hours which took him over the upper earnings level for National Insurance, whereas moving to monthly every period was below that level.

People I've spoken to with four-weekly pay often like it. Even people with limited income, struggling to make ends meet, use each four weekly payment as most of us use monthly pay, and regard the 13th payment as an 'extra.' Funding Christmas / holidays / car expenses - they often had a purpose for it, and felt it helped free up some money outside their bills once a year.

I'm currently bridging the gap between retirement and state pension age, with a lumpy shortfall in income over the year. At this point the state pension would be very welcome - I'm one of the earliest cohorts to have a 67 age - regardless of how it is paid.

Stubod

..no chance..get ours weekly, why would I want to change it???