Take State Pension or defer - general principle

Be_Happy

boobbby wrote: »

Well that put me straight!! there I was thinkin as an old fool I would marry a nice 18 year old girl and set her up with a pension after I was gone. Just as a matter of interest is the pension always lost after a divorce and you are no longer in the service.

I think rules changed in 1978, so any service after that time counts for a widow's pension after divorce.

Consumerist

Hi Primrose,

If you are considering deferring your State Pension, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of a booklet "Your Guide to State Pension Deferral" (SPD1) from the Pension Service. Copies obtainable from 0845 7313233.

If you have other income in the tax year in which you claim the lump sum, I refer you to the top of page 33 for a possible sting in the tax tail.

Happy retirement.

Consumerist

Hi millie,

You can get a forecast of your deferred State Pension as a lump sum from The Pension Service on 0845 6060265. See booklet SPD1 "Your guide to State Pension Deferral" page 90.

My OH has one in the pipeline as I speak (type).

I'll know SPD1 by heart soon !

dizzie

Hi - my mum will be 60 in a couple of months and doesn't know whether to defer her state pension. She works full time at present and gets working tax credits (somewhere between £200 and £300 per year I think). She lives on her own and has a state pension forecast of around £68 per week (which will be topped up with pension credits when she stops working, since she doesn't have much in the way of savings). She doesn't want to give up working yet and plans to continue for at least another year.

She has asked for my advice about whether or not to defer her state pension and I really haven't got a clue. If she takes it in October, then she will have the working tax credits clawed back for this tax year (since the state pension will be extra income). Her idea was maybe to defer it for a year and then take the lump sum. My question is - will the lump sum be classed as income for that year (i.e. if she stops work at that point, will it be classed as income and prevent her from getting pension credits (the lump sum will not bring her savings amount over £6000). Or are there any other pros and cons of deferring/not deferring?

Many thanks for any advice anyone may have

sarahb

Consumerist wrote: »

If you are considering deferring your State Pension, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of a booklet "Your Guide to State Pension Deferral" (SPD1) from the Pension Service. Copies obtainable from 0845 7313233.

Thanks for the recommendation - I'm doing a bit of research for my mum and found it online for anyone who can't be bothered ringing up for it/ doesn't want to wait for it to arrive !

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/pdf/spd/spd1may08.pdf

Also a short guide :

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/pdf/spd2/spd2sep08.pdf