Anyone retiring this year has been warned that state pension payments must be claimed and they are not awarded automatically.
A common misconception about the state pension is that you will start to receive your regular monthly payments as soon as you turn 66 years, which is the current state pension age.
However, this is not the case and in order to start receiving your money you will need to actively make a claim, otherwise, the state pension will automatically be deferred.
The reason it is not paid automatically is to allow people to choose to defer making a claim in order to keep working.
Some people choose to do this as they would like the chance to add more to their savings pot.
To claim the full amount of state pension, you will need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record.
You need at least ten years to get any state pension at all.
If you do not have this you can top up your national insurance contributions in order to qualify.
The full new State Pension is £185.15 a week, usually paid every four weeks, but this amount could increase if you choose to defer.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, your state pension increases by the equivalent of 1% for every nine weeks you defer.
This works out at just under 5.8% over the course of a year.
If you defer for a year, or 52 weeks, you could get an extra £10.70 a week on top of your £185.15 when you do your claim.
However, it should be noted that this is going up by 10.1% from April this year following the government's Autumn Statement and means the weekly allowance will rise to £203.85.
The DWP says that those coming up to the state pension age will receive a letter no later than two months before they turn 66 years which will tell them exactly what they should do and how much they could qualify for.
However, if you are within three months of turning 66 then you don't have to wait for the letter, you can make the claim yourself.
The quickest way to claim is by applying online, though alternatively, you can phone the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898 to get a claim form posted out to you.
If you haven't got your invitation letter you'll need to contact the DWP first to ask for an invitation code.
You will then need:
- the date of your most recent marriage, civil partnership or divorce
- the dates of any time spent living or working abroad
- your bank or building society details
- the invitation code from the letter about getting your State Pension
If you start your claim in the first 12 months after you reached State Pension age, you can ask that the claim is backdated to when your entitlement started.
