MILLIONS on a state pension will see their payments rise by up to £901 a year from April.
But a specific code in your National Insurance number informs the exact date you will receive the pay boost.
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The Government confirmed in Spring Budget documents last week the state pension will rise by 8.5% due to the triple lock mechanism.
Payments will rise from April 8, the first Monday after the start of the new tax year.
But a code in your NI number tells you the exact date you will see payments increase.
This is because the number dictates what day you receive your pension money.
State pension is paid every four weeks and the day you’re paid usually depends on the last two digits of your NI number.
If the digits are between 00 and 19, you are paid on a Monday.
It’s Tuesday if they are between 20 and 39, and Wednesday if the digits are between 40 and 59.
Numbers 60 to 79 are paid on a Thursday and numbers 80 to 99 are usually paid on Fridays.
As an example, if your NI number ends in 65, you could see your payment rise on April 11, if that’s the time of the month you usually get paid.
Bear in mind, state pension is usually paid every four weeks, so if you are expecting a payment between April 1 and 5, you might not actually see your pay rise until early May.
What is the state pension?
The state pension is a Government benefit and currently paid to those aged 66 and over.
There are two types – the basic state pension and new state pension.
The basic state pension is paid to men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953.
The maximum basic state pension is worth £156.20 a week, although you may get less than this if you don’t have the full amount of qualifying National Insurance years.
The new state pension is paid to men born on or after April 6, 1951, and women born on or after April 6, 1953.
It is worth up to £203.85 a week, but again, you need to have the full amount of qualifying NI years to get this amount.
How much is the state pension rising by?
Both the basic and new state pension rise each year in line with the triple lock.
This means they rise in line with whichever is highest out of wages for the previous May to July, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation from the previous September and 2.5%.
Both styles of pension are rising by 8.5% from next month, based on the annual growth in employees’ average total pay between May and July last year.
That means the basic state pension will increase from £156.20 a week to £169.47 a week – worth an extra £690.40 a year.
Meanwhile, the full new state pension will rise from £203.85 a week to £221.17 a week – an extra £900.64 a year.
How to claim the state pension
You don’t get the state pension automatically and have to actively claim it.
How to check what benefits you could be entitled to
The quickest way to see what benefits you may be able to claim is to use one of the three benefit calculators recommended by Gov.uk.
Each one is free to use. They are:
Before using the tools, make sure you have key financial information to hand, such as bank and savings statements, and information on pensions and existing benefits.
If you live with a partner or family, get their basic financial information together too as this could affect your claim.
For each of these, you’ll be asked information about your circumstances, such as your current employment and income.
You’ll also need to give information about yourself, including your age and who you live with.
You can then use the contact information on Gov.uk to get the ball rolling and apply for what you’re owed.
Of course, the tools only provide an indicator of what benefits you can claim – and usually don’t include means tested benefits, so you may be entitled to even more.
You should receive a letter no later than three months before you reach state pension age, explaining what to do.
The easiest way to apply is online on the Government’s website, but you can also apply via post or phone.
You can defer receiving your state pension and receive higher payments when you do come to claim it.
If you’re waiting to claim the new state pension, it will increase by 1% for every nine weeks you defer – worth 5.8% for every 52 weeks.
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