State pensioners can get £916 added to payments and 'do not need to do anything'

Sate pensioners don't know that they could add an extra £916 to their pension pot because of a little-known rule - by DEFERRING. State pensioners have been urged to act to get their Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) payments boosted - but it means giving up your pension for an extra year.

If you choose to defer your state pension by a year, the total you’re paid when you do collect it will increase. In fact, for every nine weeks you delay taking your state pension, the payout rises by one percent, which adds up to a 5.8 per cent boost per year, or £666.

This rule currently applies to those on the New State Pension, which is currently £221.50 per week and will rise each year in line with the much-debated Triple Lock. Those who reach state pension age after April 6 2016 will be eligible for the deferral boost, benefitting those born after 1949.

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For those on the old pension, born before 1949 could get an extra 10.4 per cent added to their £169.50 state pension per week, making for a total of £916 extra per year deferred.The government explains on its website: “You do not get your State Pension automatically - you have to claim it. You should get a letter no later than two months before you reach State Pension age, telling you what to do."

The guidance from the government and the DWP, which pays out the state pension each month at two rates, goes on to advise and add:“You can either claim your State Pension or delay (defer) claiming it. If you want to defer, you do not have to do anything. Your pension will automatically be deferred until you claim it.”

If you want to defer, you do not have to do anything. Your pension will automatically be deferred until you claim it.