Checking State Pension increase

goodValue

I wanted to check the 4.8% increase in State Pension had been correctly applied.
So I took one of the payments from last year, increased it by 4.8% and compared it with a payment made this year.
The payment I received was about £10 less than what I had calculated.

I get paid every 13 weeks, and so I had to pick payments for the above comparison, that would be representative for the appropriate tax year.

Is this a suitable way of checking that I'm getting the correct payment?
Are there any other issues that could cause a difference in the values of the payments that I compared?

flaneurs_lobster

Assume you are resident outside the UK to be paid every 13 weeks?

Are you notified of the GBP amount transferred or do you only see the amount in local currency?

TadleyBaggie

Or are you paid 13 times a year?

Previous threads suggest they are in the UK.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82113228#Comment_82113228

"I get paid every 13 weeks" sounds pretty unambiguous to me.

TadleyBaggie

Whatever .

DRS1

Don't you get a letter telling you what the increase is for your SP once it is being paid? Isn't it the case that not all of your SP will necessarily increase at the triple lock rate - some might increase by a lower rate depending on how the SP is made up.

OP whatever the frequency of your payments can't you work out a weekly rate for both years and compare them?

UKTaxHelper

Check if the payment you picked straddles the uprating date. The rise runs from the first Monday of the tax year and it's paid in arrears, so that one lands part old rate, part new. The next should match.

molerat

The whole state pension does not straightforwardly increase by the stated percentage, that only applies to the basic old pension amount and the full new pension. Any additional pension with the old pre 2016 pension and any protected amount with the new pension increases with CPI which, for the last increase, was only 3.8% against the triple lock 4.8% on the base amounts. The other factor, as mentioned above, is that the first payment of the financial year will include some weeks at last year's rate. The letter you receive each year will tell you the weekly amount you will receive.

goodValue

I'll be living outside the UK for the next two years, in the EU, so I should get the annual increase.
And the payments are in GBP, so there are no exchange issues.
As I said in the OP, I picked payments to compare, that wouldn't straddle two tax years.

I was told I wouldn't get the full New State Pension, due to being contracted out, and I deferred taking
the pension for a few years.
Is the increase in value of the deferring portion (Extra State Pension) not increased each year by the same amount as the base amount?
Could that be the source of discrepancy in the values?

eskbanker

No triple lock for the deferred extras, just CPI:

Annual increases

After you claim your State Pension, the extra amount you get because you deferred will usually increase each year based on the Consumer Price Index. It will not increase for some people who live abroad.

https://www.gov.uk/deferring-state-pension/if-you-reach-state-pension-age-on-or-after-6-april-2016

goodValue

the extra amount you get because you deferred will usually increase each year based on the Consumer Price Index.

Does the government publish the CPI they are using for the annual increase, or do you have to look elsewhere to find the value?