GET YOUR PENSION EARLIER
Anyone who gets state retirement pension should check how often it is
paid. If it is paid every four weeks, or in rare cases every 13 weeks, then you
are getting it in arrears. In other words after it is due.
But you can get your state pension paid in advance every week. If you do
that you get it up to five weeks earlier. And that means it is in your account
sooner – and perhaps earning interest. It also means that when it goes up in
April you will get the rise that much quicker too.
So it is worth doing. And do it
soon because from 6 April the system will change. Anyone who reaches pension age
from that date will not be able to get the state pension weekly in advance.
Instead they will be given the choice of weekly, fortnightly, or four-weekly
payments but all in arrears.
The Government says that anyone who reaches pension age before that date
will retain the right to change to weekly in advance. But it is likely that at
some future date that choice will be taken away. So it is best to change now
before that happens.
The other advantage of payments in advance is that when you die – and we
all do – you will be one payment up. It is very difficult for the department to
recover that from your estate – and they lose £10 million a year by failing to
do so. But if you get your pension paid in arrears then up to four of your final
pension payments go to your heirs, not you.
There are no plans at the moment to move those who already get the
pension paid in advance to a payment in arrears. If it does happen in the future
they should be compensated.
You can change to weekly in advance by calling the pension service on
084560 60 2 65.
Go back to Paul Lewis front page