State pensioners could receive an extra £714 in their pay packets from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) – by deferring. You get an extra 1% each nine weeks that you wait to make your claim.
If you wait for an entire year, that could increase your payout by 5.8%. At the moment, a new state pension is worth £230.25 a week or £11,973 annually.
But the DWP state pension is forecast to rise by 4.8% next year, and so the new state pension is expected to increase to £241.30 a week. It means state pensioners opting to defer could receive a cool £714 extra from the DWP.
READ MORE Thousands of Blue Badge holders issued update over free bus travel
BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis said: “Defer your state pension, and the maths works out that if you live longer than typical life expectancy, you’ll gain; if you live less, you’ll lose. Live a typical lifespan and it’ll be pretty neutral.
“So if you’re in poor health, it’s not really worth considering. If you’re in great health with a history of family longevity, deferring could be a winner.
“Otherwise the real issue is tax – if you’re earning or have a decent income now, but’ll pay tax at a lower rate later on, then deferring can be very worthwhile.”
For every 9 weeks you defer, you’ll get an extra 1%, which is around an extra £2.30 a week. If you defer for a full year, you get 5.8% extra, which is £13.35 a week.
On current figures, a one year deferral would net you an extra £694 a year on your state pension, for life.
But from next year this rises under the Triple Lock. 52-year-old Mr Lewis said: “In general, if you defer for any amount of time, you’d need to live for around 20 years after taking your state pension to even out the amounts… which is around the time an average 66 year old is expected to live.”