State pensioners are seeing payments processed quicker – as the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) has slashed its waiting times. New figures from Quilter show the DWP is processing claims within TWO DAYS.

The average processing time for new state pension claims fell from 1.67 weeks in May 2024 to 0.18 weeks – less than two days – by May 2025.

The New, Full State Pension is worth £921 a month. In May 2024, over 8,000 claims took between six and 12 weeks to complete, while by the same time this year, that figure had dropped to just 160, the I newspaper has reported.

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The number of cases taking more than 24 weeks fell from 130 to zero over the same period. Over 97 per cent of claims were processed within the DWP’s own service standards for most of the year.

Adam Cole, retirement specialist at Quilter, has spoken out alongside the new findings this week.

“These figures show a striking improvement in how quickly the DWP is processing new state pension claims. For retirees, that means far fewer delays and much greater certainty around when their first payment will arrive,” he said.

“The consistently low median processing time suggests that the department’s systems are working far more efficiently than in the past, possibly reflecting greater use of digital processing and better resourcing.”

He added: “That said, those with more complex records – for example, people who have lived or worked abroad, have gaps in their national insurance (NI) history or have periods where they were contracted out – may still face longer waits.”

Steve Webb, partner at pensions consultancy Lane Clark and Peacock, said: “Government departments rarely get credit for doing the basics well, so if the DWP has reduced the time that most people have to wait to get their state pension claim assessed, this has to be welcomed.

“Unfortunately, there are still considerable delays in other parts of the system, notably in processing voluntary NI contributions and getting state pensions reassessed, so there is no room for complacency”.

Cole said: “It’s always worth submitting your claim up to four months before reaching state pension age to make sure the first payment arrives on time.”