Deferring the state pension

millie

I have deferred my pension for the last 3 years and am going to put a claim in this week for it to start in February. That will be when I am 63 so I will have the full 3 years. When I finish work in February I will have no other income so I will be below the tax threshold. I do not intend to claim my 3 years lump sum until April, the new tax year so I will pay no tax on it. If I had claimed it when I was 60 and carried on working I would have paid an extra £16 a week in tax so I think it was worth it as I will have saved nearly £2,500 that I would have paid in tax

McKneff

And I certainly intend living long enough to more than break even.

Dont we all, but fate can play dirty sometimes.
My mother did this years ago, got her pension in January and dropped down dead of a heart attack 6 months later and she had up to that time been fit as a lop,

You pays your money, you take your chances, its all a gamble after all, isnt it.

royeee

Interesting points of views I'm still not convinced its worth the 10 years making up for the deferment and who is to assume one's going to live that long and still in health and fitness?

seven-day-weekend

chesky369 wrote: »

I deferred my state pension whilst I was still working from 60-63 and never regretted it - a healthy boost to my weekly guaranteed income. Great. And I certainly intend living long enough to more than break even.

To seven day weekend who intends claiming weekly in advance (as I most certainly do) instead of monthly in arrears : Make sure you make your claim a.s.a.p. as they intend to change the rules, so all new claimants have no choice but to take their pension monthly in arrears. Sneaky. Not sure when it comes into effect, so check it out.

I have claimed already and have a letter of confirmation, but thanks for the info!

SailorSam

Grumpy_Old_Duffer wrote: »

Is 60 the earliest you can take a state pension?

Have in the back-of-my-mind you can stop paying the NI part to the state pension if you have paid enough NI credits. Anyone know if this is true, and if it is how does one find out from the DHSS?

You can find out what your future State Pension forecast is, and if you have paid enough in contributions to get a full pension, by registering with..
Government Gateway, https://www.gateway.gov.uk

zygurat789

Many women continue working from 60 to 65 ish in which case any pension would be additional income and probably squirreled away for eventual retirement.
Some time ago the rate used to be fairly good and, although not so attractive now, it is still better than some. Care needs to be exercised when taking the lump sum which is taxable and could easily be taxed at the higher rate.
From what I have seen the increased pension option usually takes 10 years + before you are in "profit" by which time, if you haven't already popped your clogs your lifestyle probably wont require much cash. Just look at 75 year olds.
Isn't it always good to receive a lump sum?

SailorSam

One of the reasons i thought a lump sum would be a better alternative was,
I've heard some pensioners complaining because they receive a small personal pension which takes them just over the threshold to get extra help with the likes of rates,. prescriptions etc etc. So net they are worse off than the woman next door who never saved.
So i thought by taking a lump sum then perhaps getting a few improvements on the house and a better car, in the long run, it may be better ?????

dzug1

SailorSam wrote: »

One of the reasons i thought a lump sum would be a better alternative was,
I've heard some pensioners complaining because they receive a small personal pension which takes them just over the threshold to get extra help with the likes of rates,. prescriptions etc etc. So net they are worse off than the woman next door who never saved.
So i thought by taking a lump sum then perhaps getting a few improvements on the house and a better car, in the long run, it may be better ?????

A trvial point - anyone over 60 gets free prescriptions anyway, so if they are really grumbling about that then they haven't looked at the form properly.

millie

You only pay tax on the lump sum if your other income is over the tax threshold. I am claiming mine in February and my other income in the current tax year is only about £4500. The lump sum payment is not taken into account so I will be below the tax threshold and will not pay tax on it.

SailorSam

dzug1 wrote: »

A trvial point - anyone over 60 gets free prescriptions anyway, so if they are really grumbling about that then they haven't looked at the form properly.

But you have seen reporters on Tv talking to retired people who have said that, haven't you ?