People planning for retirement have been urged to check how they are impacted by a change to the DWP rules. A pension expert said it is "essential" you check a key date.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at pension provider Aegon, has urged people to verify how they are affected by a payment change which is coming into force right now. She said: "It's important that people approaching retirement know their state pension age."
State pension age rising
"The state pension age is rising gradually from age 66 to age 67 by March 2028 so checking your entitlement date is essential, particularly as the state pension isn't paid automatically and needs to be claimed."
The state pension age is going up in one-month increments, between April 2026 and April 2028. For those soon to celebrate their 66th birthday, they will have to wait five more months until they can start to claim their state pension. This is because for those born before August 6 and September 5, the state pension age is 66 years and 5 months.
Check your entitlement date
You can check your state pension age using the state pension calculator tool on the gov.uk website. It's definitely worth checking as the full new state pension pays £241.30 a week.
So if you were due to get the full rate and had based your budget on collecting your payments from age 66, but then had to wait another five months, you would have to find another £5,200 of income from somewhere to cover that period.
Claiming your state pension
Whatever your state pension age, you can take action ahead of the big day to make sure your payments kick in when you become eligible. The DWP rules state you can put in your claim for your state pension up to four months ahead of when you qualify.
So if you're turning 66 on any date between now and September 5, you only have to wait another month after your birthday to send in your application. You can call the Pension Service to arrange your application, on 0800 731 7898. Another option is to put in your claim through the Government website.
To send in your application in this way, you will need to request an invitation code. You can only do this if you will reach state pension age in the next three months. For security reasons, the DWP has to send you a letter in the post with your code. The DWP should send you a letter with an invitation code anyway when you are approaching state pension age.
You can request to be sent an invitation code through the gov.uk website. You should get your invitation code within 5 days of requesting it.
Those born after March 5, 1961 will have a state pension age of 67. However, the state pension age is set to increase again. The current plans are for it to move up from 67 to 68 between April 2044 and April 2046. There has been discussion of bringing forward this timetable. Labour announced last year there would be another review of the state pension age.
