Increase your State Pension by deferring your claim

You have to be a certain age before you can claim State Pension, based on when you were born. 

You can quickly check your State Pension age on GOV.UKOpens in a new window

Around four months before you reach your State Pension Age, you’ll get a letter with an invitation code. You’ll need to use this code to claim your State Pension online. 

You can apply as soon as you receive it or choose to wait. If you wait, this is called deferring or delaying your State Pension. 

For more information about how the State Pension works, see our guide State Pension explained.

Check your State Pension forecast on GOV.UKOpens in a new window to see how much you’re currently on track to get.  

Your State Pension is based on how many years of National Insurance contributions you have.

If your forecast shows you’re unlikely to qualify for the maximum amount, see our guide Increase your State Pension with voluntary National Insurance contributions. 

Unless you or your partner get certain benefits or tax creditsOpens in a new window you’ll usually get extra State Pension if you delay or stop your claim after you reach your State Pension ageOpens in a new window

This means your weekly State Pension amount will increase for each week you don’t claim, as long as you delay by at least nine weeks. This works out as a 1% increase for every nine weeks you don’t claim it. 

If you delay for less than 12 months, you also have the option of taking the payments you’ve missed as a lump sum instead, with no increase added. This is called a backdated payment.

The rules are different if you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. Your State Pension will increase by the equivalent of 1% for every five weeks you delay claiming. You need to delay by at least five weeks to get this.

If you don’t claim for at least 12 months in a row, you can choose to take the amount you haven’t claimed as a lump sum with interest added (2% above the Bank of England Bank RateOpens in a new window).

If you’re already getting your State Pension, you’re allowed to pause the payments once. To request this, you’ll need to contact the Pension ServiceOpens in a new window or the Northern Ireland Pension CentreOpens in a new window if you live in Northern Ireland. After you restart your claim, you can’t stop receiving it again.

For more information and examples, see Delay your State PensionOpens in a new window on GOV.UK.

Delaying or stopping your State Pension claim means you’ll receive more when you do claim, but you’ll receive it over a shorter period. 

Your State Pension generally stops when you die, unless your husband, wife or civil partner can inherit it. The State Pension and your partner toolOpens in a new window on GOV.UK will show your options. 

This means you’ll need to weigh up if you or your partner are likely to live long enough to gain more overall. 

The extra amount in State Pension will increase your income, which could affect your entitlement to certain benefits like Pension Credit.

You can use our Benefits calculator to see what you’re entitled to and what might happen if your income increased. For free advice about your situation, you can use AdvicelocalOpens in a new window to find a benefits specialist near you.  

If you already get certain benefits and tax creditsOpens in a new window and want to delay your claim, you’ll need to tell the:

• Pension ServiceOpens in a new window if you live in England, Wales or Scotland, or  
• Northern Ireland Pension CentreOpens in a new window if you live in Northern Ireland.

If you’ve got other income, like wages or another pension, claiming your State Pension on top might push you into a higher Income Tax rate. 

This means you might pay less tax overall by delaying or stopping your State Pension claim until this other income reduces. For example, delaying your claim until you’ve stopped working.

When you make or resume your claim, you’ll start paying tax on the increased amount. This is usually done by changing your tax code so you’ll pay any tax due from your other income, or by filling out a Self Assessment tax return.

If you take your delayed weekly payments in one go rather than increased weekly payments, you’ll pay tax on the whole amount: 

• For backdated payments (up to 12 months’ of delayed weekly payments), the rate of tax you’ll pay is based on your overall income in the tax year(s) each payment was originally meant to be paid.

• For lump sums (over 12 months’ of delayed weekly payments with interest added, if you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016), the rate of tax is based on the highest rate you pay on your other income – in the tax year you receive the money.  

There’s no deadline to claim your State Pension by, so you can apply or restart your claim whenever you like. 

You can select a date you’d like to receive your first payment on when you apply. 

See our guide how to apply for State Pension for full help.