Questions on Pensions Claiming State Retirement Pension ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The details in this leaflet should be correct from 7 April 2008 to 5 April 2009. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this leaflet is correct. However, things do change, so it is always a good idea to seek advice on your personal situation.You can check whether there have been changes by calling SeniorLine on 0808 800 6565 (0808 808 7575 in Northern Ireland). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents Section 1. Am I entitled to a State Retirement Pension? Section 2. How is the pension made up? Section 3. How much pension will I get? Section 4. Have I paid enough National Insurance? Section 5. What if I can’t get any state pension at all? Section 6. How do I claim my State Retirement Pension? Section 7. How will my pension be paid? Section 8. Can someone else pick up my pension if I’m ill? Section 9. Will I pay income tax on my pension? Section 10. What happens if I’m still earning? Section 11. Will my pension affect my other benefits? Section 12. What happens if I go into hospital? Section 13. What happens if I go to live overseas? Section 14. Can I defer my pension? Section 15. What is the Christmas Bonus? Section 16. What is the Winter Fuel Payment? Section 17. What if I have problems with my pension? Section 18. Occupational and personal pensions Section 19. Further information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you reach state retirement age you may become entitled to a State Retirement Pension.This is paid for out of National Insurance contributions and taxes.The amount of State Retirement Pension you receive depends on the amount of National Insurance contributions that either you and/or your husband, wife or civil partner have paid during your working life. This leaflet is designed to answer some of the questions you may have about how the State Retirement Pension system works. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1. Am I entitled to a State Retirement Pension? You can get a State Retirement Pension if you meet all of the following requirements: * You have reached state retirement age – currently 60 if you are a woman and 65 if you are a man. * You meet the National Insurance (NI) contribution conditions. * You claim it.You will not receive your State Retirement Pension automatically on reaching pension age.You need to make a claim. (The Government intends to equalise the state retirement age at 65 for both men and women.As this change will not start to be phased in until 2010, women born before April 1950 will not be affected.The state retirement age will then gradually increase from 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046.This will happen in stages. For more information see The Pension Service’s leaflet State Pensions Your Guide (PM2).You can get a copy from your local benefits office or pension centre. Or you can call The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265 and ask for a copy.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 2. How is the pension made up? Your pension may be made up of a combination of different types of pension or additions. The pensions and additions are: *basic pension *additional pension *graduated pension *over-80s pension *age-related addition *invalidity addition *extra pension *increases for dependants. You qualify for these in different ways.You may get some of them or all of them. Basic pension The full basic pension is £90.70 a week. How much of this basic pension you will get depends on how many ‘qualifying years’ your National Insurance (NI) contribution record contains. A qualifying year is a tax year in which you have paid enough contributions (or been credited with contributions) towards a pension.You will get a full basic pension if you have a full NI record. As a rough guide, you should qualify for a full basic pension if you have qualifying years for about 90 per cent of your ‘working life’ – approximately 44 years for a man and 39 years for a woman.This is due to be reduced to 30 years for both men and women for those people who reach state retirement age on or after 6 April 2010. If you haven’t paid enough NI contributions to get a full basic pension, you may be able to get a reduced one. In order to get any pension at all you usually need to have qualifying years for at least a quarter of your working life – currently about 10 years for a woman and 11 years for a man.This will change if you reach state pension age after 6 April 2010. After that, people who have fewer than 30 qualifying years will get one thirtieth of full basic state pension for each qualifying year they have. People who were unable to work because they were caring for a child or someone who was sick or disabled can reduce the amount of years in their working life which have to be qualifying years. See the section on Home Responsibilities Protection on page 15.Also, people who were unable to work because they were ill, or were unemployed and registered as looking for work may get credits to help protect their entitlement to basic state pension. However, your entitlement to credits will depend on the reason that you are not able to work. For more information call the HM Revenue & Customs National Insurance Contributions helpline on 0845 302 1479. Generally, you need to have made NI contributions yourself. However, married women, civil partners, divorcees, people whose civil partnership has been dissolved, widowed people or surviving civil partners who have reached pension age may be able to claim a pension based on the contributions their husband, wife or civil partner made. It is also possible to get extra pension for a dependent husband, wife or civil partner in some situations.This is explained in more detail later on. Civil partners and transsexual people The Civil Partnership Act 2004, which allows same-sex couples to register their relationships, has given civil partners most of the same rights as husbands and wives.Where there are currently different rules for husbands and wives, civil partners are treated in the same way as husbands. So, for example, civil partners are not entitled to an equivalent of the Married Woman’s Pension. When the Government starts to equalise pension ages for men and women in April 2010, men and women, whether married or in registered civil partnerships, will be treated in the same way. If you are a transsexual person and have a full Gender Recognition Certificate, your assigned gender is the relevant gender for working out your State Retirement Pension entitlement. It may be worth contacting the Future Pension Centre on 0845 3000 168 to make sure this has been taken into account when working out your state pension forecast. For more information about the effect of Gender Recognition Certificates on State Retirement Pension see the section ‘Guidance on Benefits and Pensions’ within the gender recognition application form.You can ask for a copy by calling the Gender Recognition Panel Secretariat on 0845 355 5155, or download one from its website www.grp.gov.uk For more advice on the rules for civil partners and transsexual people, contact SeniorLine on 0808 800 6565 (0808 808 7575 in Northern Ireland) or your local Citizens Advice Bureau. Additional pension Additional pension is extra pension based on the amount you earned (and therefore the amount you paid through NI contributions) since April 1978. It is paid under the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) or through the State Second Pension rules.You don’t have to be receiving a basic pension to be entitled to an additional pension. If you have been a member of a contracted-out occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme, your additional pension will be reduced.A contracted-out deduction will have been made because you will have paid less NI contributions. Graduated pension Graduated Retirement Benefit, or graduated pension, is worked out according to the amount of graduated NI contributions you paid between April 1961 and April 1975 (the period when this scheme was running).You may be entitled to graduated pension even if you do not receive a basic or additional pension. Over-80s pension The over-80s pension is non-contributory – you don’t have to have made NI contributions to receive it.The over-80s pension stands at £54.35 a week. If you are 80 or over and get no basic pension at all you should receive this full amount of over-80s pension. If you get some basic pension, but it is less than £54.35 a week, you will get over-80s pension to make up the difference. You can apply for the over-80s pension in the four months leading up to your 80th birthday.Ask your local benefits office or pension centre for a claim form. Look in your phone book or call The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265 for contact details for your nearest pension centre. Age-related addition When you turn 80 you will receive an age-related addition of 25p a week on top of your State Retirement Pension. Invalidity addition You will get an extra payment on top of whatever pension you are entitled to if you were receiving an invalidity allowance or an age addition with long-term Incapacity Benefit at any time during the eight weeks before you reached pension age. However, the amount you receive will be reduced if you are getting any additional pension. Extra pension You can get an extra amount added to your pension each week if you defer claiming it for at least five weeks. This is explained more fully later on. Increases for dependants If you receive some basic pension, you may be able to get extra pension if your husband, wife or civil partner is dependent on you.The amount you will get will depend on how much basic pension you are entitled to. If your wife or civil partner is dependent on you You may be able to get extra pension of up to £54.35 a week if your wife or civil partner is dependent on you. Generally, your partner must be under pension age to be classed as dependent on you. If your partner is over 60 they will be able to claim a State Retirement Pension in their own right or, for a dependent wife only, a Married Woman’s Pension through your contributions. A pension increase will not be paid if your partner gets a State Retirement Pension, or any other state benefit (excluding Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance), of £54.35 or more each week. If your partner has earnings of more than £60.50 a week, this pension increase will not be paid.Any pension that they get from their job or a personal pension scheme counts as earnings. If your husband is dependent on you An increase of up to £54.35 a week may be payable if your husband is dependent on you and you were entitled to an addition to your Incapacity Benefit for him immediately before you started to claim your pension.This increase is not given if your husband is earning more than this amount a week (a personal or occupational pension counts as earnings). Nor is the increase payable if he is receiving a State Retirement Pension or another state benefit (except Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance) of £54.35 or more each week. How much pension will I get? The amount of State Retirement Pension you get will depend on the level of your NI contributions, when you made them and the amount you were earning at the time.Your pension may be made up of a combination of the different types of pension and additions that were explained over the last few pages.You may receive a full basic pension, a reduced one, or none at all.You may also get different amounts of additional or graduated pension. You will be told how your pension is made up in the decision letter that you receive from The Pension Service once you have claimed State Retirement Pension. If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for it to be reviewed. If you want to know more about the various entitlements, leaflet State Pensions Your Guide (PM2), covers them in detail.You can get a copy from your local benefits office or pension centre. Or you can call The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265 and ask for a copy. Pension forecast If you haven’t yet reached pension age you can ask for a pension forecast from The Pensions Service. However, the service is reduced until Autumn 2008. Until then you can only request a forecast if you are: * living in the UK * more than 30 days away from State Pension age * reaching State Pension age on or before 6 April 2010 (Once the full service is resumed you will be able to request a forecast if you are more than four months away from 60 if you are a woman, or 65 if you are a man.) The forecast will tell you what pension you can expect to get when you reach pension age.Ask your local benefits office or pension centre for a copy of form BR19 which explains the process, or phone 0845 300 0168.Alternatively you can download a form from The Pension Service’s website. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 3. Have I paid enough National Insurance? If you have not paid enough NI contributions to qualify for a full basic pension, you may be able to get a reduced pension, or you may not get one at all. You might be able to pay extra National Insurance contributions so that you get more basic pension.This must be done before you reach pension age. For advice about National Insurance contributions contact the National Insurance enquiries on 0845 302 1479. However, married women, divorcees, people whose civil partnership has dissolved, widows, widowers and surviving civil partners may be able to claim a pension on someone else’s NI contributions. Married women Married women over the age of 60 You may be entitled to a basic pension in your own right when you reach the age of 60, because of the NI contributions you built up during your working life. If you are not entitled to a State Retirement Pension on reaching the age of 60 (perhaps because you did not do any paid work) you may be able to get a basic pension based on your husband’s NI contributions.This is called the Married Woman’s Pension. If your husband gets the full basic pension then you will get £54.35 a week (you will get less if he is getting a reduced pension). If you are entitled to your own pension, but it is less than £54.35 a week, your pension will be made up to a maximum of this amount. You can’t claim Married Woman’s Pension unless your husband is drawing his pension. If you are over 60 and your husband has not yet reached 65, you are only entitled to any State Retirement Pension you receive on your own contribution record. Married women under the age of 60 You can’t get a State Retirement Pension in your own right until you reach the age of 60. But if you are dependent on your husband when he starts to claim his pension, he may be able to get an increase on his basic pension for you.This increase will be a maximum of £54.35 a week (the same as the current level of Married Woman’s Pension).The rules for working out whether your husband can get an increase on his pension for you are explained below. Divorced people and people whose civil partnership has dissolved If you are not entitled to a full basic pension on your own contribution record, you can claim on your ex-partner’s record, up to the date when you divorced or dissolved your civil partnership, if this will make you better off. In this way you can receive up to a maximum of the single person’s basic pension – £90.70 a week. Under this system you are not entitled to your former partner’s graduated or additional pension; however, you can start to claim before he or she begins to draw their own pension. If you have been married and divorced or registered and dissolved a civil partnership more than once, your most recent partner’s record will be used. If you get married again or register a new civil partnership before reaching pension age you can’t claim a pension based on your former partner’s contributions. If you get remarried or register a new civil partnership after pension age, you can. If you are a woman and are separated from your husband you should be able to claim the Married Woman’s Pension of up to £54.35 a week if you are not entitled to a pension in your own right.You can’t claim this until your husband starts to claim his own pension; if you are not in touch with your husband you can contact your local benefits office or pension centre to find out whether he has started to claim. Widows If your husband died before you reached 60 and you have not re-married, you have three main choices when you reach state retirement age. Seek advice on which option would be best for you before making a decision. * You can draw your State Retirement Pension, based on your NI contributions, your late husband’s contributions or a combination of both. * If you were widowed before April 2001 and receive Widow’s Pension, you can either continue to receive this until you reach the age of 65 or you can claim your State Retirement Pension.The basic amounts will often be the same. However, you might get some additional or graduated pension on top of your State Retirement Pension through your late husband’s contributions (if you were both over pension age when your husband died).This could mean that you would be better off claiming State Retirement Pension.There are very few cases where you would be better off staying on Widow’s Pension until the age of 65. If you receive Widow’s Pension you will lose it if you re-marry. * If you were widowed after April 2001 and you are receiving Bereavement Allowance, you can continue to get this until you have been on it for 52 weeks. Or you can claim your State Retirement Pension as soon as you reach pension age. Most people will be better off claiming their pension as soon as they can. If you were widowed after the age of 60 and are not entitled to a pension in your own right, you should be able to get a State Retirement Pension based on your late husband’s contributions. If you receive some pension, but not the full basic pension, you may also be able to use his NI contribution record to bring your basic pension up to a higher level.You will continue to receive this pension even if you re-marry. Widowers and surviving civil partners If you are not entitled to a full basic pension in your own right, your partner’s NI contribution record may be taken into account to give you a better pension. For more details on widows’, widowers’ and surviving civil partner’s pensions see leaflets NP45, A Guide to Bereavement Benefits, and State Pensions Your Guide.You can get a copy from your local benefits office or pension centre. Or you can call The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265 and ask for a copy. Home Responsibilities Protection Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was introduced in 1978 to help protect the pension of people who do not work because they are caring for a child or a sick or disabled person. It works by reducing the number of years for which you have to satisfy the NI contribution conditions in order to get the full basic pension. The number of these ‘qualifying years’ can be reduced through HRP to as few as 20 years (compared to the current 39 for women or 44 for men). You should have got HRP automatically if, throughout a whole tax year from April 1978, you: * received Child Benefit for a child under 16 – you must have been the named recipient; or * claimed Income Support and did not have to be available for work because you were looking after someone at home. You may also have got HRP if, for any whole tax year, you were regularly looking after someone (for at least 35 hours a week) who was getting Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance (paid with War Disablement Pension and Industrial Injuries Benefit) or the middle or higher rate of Disability Living Allowance for personal care. But you will have had to apply for it before you reached State Retirement Pension age. If you want to claim HRP for any years you spent caring since April 2002, you must apply within three years.You can also receive it if you have been a registered foster carer for the tax years from April 2003. Contact The Pension Service for more information on applying for HRP (see contact details below). If you were receiving Carer’s Allowance you probably won’t have needed to get HRP because you should have got NI credits. You won’t have got HRP for any years that you were looking after someone before 1978. From 2010 HRP will be replaced with a new weekly National Insurance credit for people caring for children or severely disabled people. For those reaching state pension age after 2010 past years of HRP will be recalculated into years of NI credits which will count towards the basic state pension. Pensions for Women The Department for Work and Pensions has produced a free leaflet Pensions for Women (PM6) to help women understand the status of their pension and their options. Call them on 08457 31 32 33 to order a copy. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 4. What if I can’t get any state pension at all? If you can’t get any State Retirement Pension, or if the amount you receive is small, you may be entitled to other welfare benefits which will help you to meet your living expenses. Depending on the amount of income you have coming in each week, and on your savings, you may be entitled to claim Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. If you need help with your personal care you could receive help through disability benefits such as Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance. If you are a carer you may be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. If you need advice on these benefits and on how to claim them, call SeniorLine on 0808 800 6565 (0808 808 7575 in Northern Ireland) for guidance and information. Help the Aged also produces two free advice leaflets, Can You Claim It? and Claiming Disability Benefits, which may help. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 5. How do I claim my State Retirement Pension? You do not receive your State Retirement Pension automatically on reaching state retirement age; you need to make a claim. You should be sent a letter about four months before you reach state retirement age inviting you to make a claim. If you haven’t received a letter three months before you reach pension age, ask for a claim form from your local benefits office.The claim form is called BR1. There are different ways you can make a claim: You can call The Pension Service on 0845 300 1084 (0808 100 2658 if you live in Northern Ireland). If you use a textphone, call 0845 300 2086 (0808 100 2198 in Northern Ireland). If you want, someone can fill in the claim form for you over the phone.The form will then be posted to you for you to check, sign and return. It will be helpful if you have your National Insurance number to hand when you call.You may be asked if you want to apply for Pension Credit at the same time. If you do, you will also be asked if you wish to apply for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.You will not be asked this if you live in Northern Ireland as this is dealt with by a different enquiry line. If you prefer, you can fill in the form yourself at home. Once you have filled it in, send it to the address given as soon as you can: it can sometimes take a while to sort out your contributions record. If you live in England,Wales or Scotland you can download a claim form from The Pension Service website www.thepensionservice.gov.uk You can backdate your claim for State Retirement Pension for up to 12 months from the date you claim. However, if you are also claiming an increase for a dependant be sure to make a claim within three months of becoming entitled. This is important, as these payments cannot be backdated by more than three months from the date you claim. You can put off, or defer, drawing your pension. This is explained below. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 6. How will my pension be paid? Normally, your pension will be paid directly into your bank account. If you do not have an account you will be given information on opening a bank, building society or post office account. If you can’t manage an account, you can ask to have your pension paid by a cheque which you can cash at the post office. But you will have to rely on the post to get your payment, so it is usually better to have the money paid directly into an account if you can. You can claim your pension from the day you reach pension age or any day after that. However, pensions are not paid out on every day of the week so you may not be paid from the day you claim.Your pension will start on the next pension pay-day. New pensions are usually paid out on a Monday.You can choose to have your pension paid weekly in advance, or every four weeks or thirteen weeks in arrears. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 7. Can someone else pick up my pension if I’m ill? If you can’t get to a post office, bank or building society to take out cash you can arrange for someone else, such as a relative or friend, to take out money for you.Ask your bank or post office about what arrangements can be made. For example, you might want to think about arranging for a trusted relative or friend to have a card of their own.This would mean that they could withdraw money for you if you were unable to get out for any reason. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 8. Will I pay income tax on my pension? All the separate parts that make up your State Retirement Pension are taxable. Basic, additional and graduated pension are all treated as income, as are any increases for adult dependants and the invalidity addition. So you can’t ignore your pension when working out if you have to pay income tax. For more information on income tax, see our free advice leaflet, Check Your Tax. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 9. What happens if I’m still earning? You can draw your State Retirement Pension when you reach pension age even if you are still earning.Your earnings will not affect the amount of pension you receive. But your pension will be counted as part of your taxable income.You might choose to put off claiming State Pension for a while to get either extra State Pension or a one-off taxable lump sum payment when you do claim. (See the section ‘Can I defer my pension?’ for more details.) If you carry on working after reaching pension age, you don’t have to pay NI contributions. Give your employer a certificate of age exemption form which you can get from your local benefits office; although you no longer have to pay NI contributions, your employer still has to. If your employer deducts NI contributions by mistake, ask for a refund. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 10. Will my pension affect my other benefits? Claiming State Retirement Pension can affect your entitlement to some state benefits. State Retirement Pension is one of a group of benefits paid to replace earnings.You won’t normally be paid more than one of these benefits at a time. So if you get State Retirement Pension you will not be paid contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or Bereavement Allowance. However, if you are entitled to another of these benefits which is payable at a higher rate than your State Retirement Pension, you will get extra money to top up your pension.You can get advice on this by contacting your local Citizens Advice Bureau or from SeniorLine on 0808 800 6565 (0808 808 7575 in Northern Ireland). If you are getting short-term Incapacity Benefit when you reach pension age, you can go on getting a special short-term rate of this benefit for up to a year of incapacity.This applies only if your incapacity began before you reached state retirement age. If you are in this situation you can choose to stay on Incapacity Benefit for a year or you can claim your State Retirement Pension.The amounts will often be the same but you may want to get expert advice on which option would be best for you.The long-term rate of Incapacity Benefit is not paid to people who are over state retirement age. From October/November 2008 Incapacity Benefit will be replaced by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). However, this will initially only affect new claimants.Anyone claiming Incapacity Benefit at the time that ESA is introduced will not be transferred onto the new scheme until April 2010. At the time that this leaflet was written there was no information available on how or whether benefit rates would be affected by this.Your local benefits office should be in contact with you about these changes. Carer’s Allowance You can claim Carer’s Allowance after retirement age. But you can’t usually receive State Retirement Pension and Carer’s Allowance at the same time. If you get a reduced pension which is less than the rate of Carer’s Allowance you will get some Carer’s Allowance to top up your pension. But even if you will not be paid any of your Carer’s Allowance, it can still be worth putting in a claim to prove that you are entitled to it.This is because means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit, Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit, have more generous rules for carers. So if you’re claiming these benefits and become eligible for Carer’s Allowance, you will get extra money. If you’re not claiming these benefits already, you may find that, as a carer, you become entitled to it. For more information about Carer’s Allowance, and to find out whether it is worthwhile applying for it, ask for guidance from SeniorLine on 0808 800 6565 (0808 808 7575 in Northern Ireland). --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 11. What happens if I go into hospital? Your State Retirement Pension will not usually be affected if you go into hospital – you should continue to receive it for the whole time you are in hospital. If you would like more information on this see our free information sheet no. 14, Going into Hospital. Or see leaflet GIHA5DWP, Going into hospital, which you can get from your local benefits office. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 12. What happens if I go to live overseas? State Retirement Pension will still be paid to you if you go to live abroad. However, when pensions go up in the UK (‘uprating’) you will not automatically receive the increased rate if you are living overseas. * If you are living in a European Economic Area (EEA) country, or in one of the non-EC countries which has an agreement with the UK, you will receive an uprated pension. * However, if you are living in a country which doesn’t have a special arrangement with the UK, your pension will stay frozen at the rate that existed when you moved abroad. For more information, see leaflet GL29, Going Abroad and Social Security Benefits, which you can get from your local benefits office. Or you can contact the International Pension Centre at The Pension Service on 0191 218 7777 for advice about benefits abroad. What happens if I used to live abroad? If you have lived and worked in another country, and paid few or no NI contributions in the UK, you may still be entitled to a basic State Retirement Pension. If you lived in an EEA country, any social security contributions you made in that country may help you to meet the contribution conditions in the UK.You may also be entitled to a separate State Retirement Pension from the other country or countries in which you lived. If you lived in a country which is not part of the EEA, you may still be entitled to some State Retirement Pension in the UK.Ask your local pension centre or benefits office for more advice if you have lived abroad and you now want to claim a State Retirement Pension in this country. If you are new to this country you may not be entitled to receive any State Retirement Pension at all. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 13. Can I defer my pension? You can get extra pension or a lump sum payment if you put off receiving your State Retirement Pension after you reach pension age. New rules introduced in April 2005 mean that there is now no limit to how long you can defer your pension. But it is important to think carefully about whether deferring your pension is the right choice for you or not. If you do want to defer your pension, you have two options: * Extra pension This is an extra amount added each week to your pension once you decide to claim it.You must defer your pension for at least five weeks to get any extra pension. As a rough guide, you should get an extra 10.4 per cent of pension if you defer for one year and do not claim another earnings-replacement benefit such as Bereavement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or Incapacity Benefit. * Lump sum: You can now choose to receive a one-off taxable lump sum payment instead of getting extra pension each week. You will have to defer your pension for at least a year to receive it.The lump sum payment is made up of the pension that you would have received during that time, plus interest.You will also get your normal State Retirement Pension.This does not include any period before 6 April 2005, when different rules applied. You don’t have to choose between the lump sum or extra pension until you claim your pension.You can claim your pension whenever you want, but can only defer once. So, if you started claiming your pension when you reached retirement age, you can still choose to cancel your claim and defer. But you can only do this once. You can get a copy of the Government’s guide to deferring pensions by calling 08457 31 32 33 and asking for leaflets SPD1 and SPD2. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 14. What is the Christmas Bonus? A tax-free bonus will be paid out with your State Retirement Pension shortly before Christmas each year, regardless of how your pension is made up.At the moment, this bonus is £10.You do not need to claim it, as it should be paid automatically with your pension. If you are receiving another qualifying benefit such as Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance you will not receive a Christmas bonus for those benefits as well. If you are part of a couple you can claim an extra bonus of £10 if your partner has not received a bonus in their own right and: * you are both over state pension age and you are entitled to an increase in your benefit for your partner; or * you are both over state pension age and the only benefit you receive is Pension Credit. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 15. What is the Winter Fuel Payment? Every household which includes someone aged 60 or more will get a Winter Fuel Payment to help towards fuel bills.The payment depends on the age of the people living there.This year, for a household with someone over 60 living there, it is £200 plus a one-off additional payment of £50. If you are 80 or over your household will receive £300 this year, plus a one-off additional payment of £100. If you are a couple you will each receive half the Winter Fuel Payment.Your household may receive more than these amounts if there are more than two eligible claimants living there.This payment is not means-tested or taxable and will not affect any benefits that you may already be claiming. People who are claiming a social security benefit, or State Retirement Pension, or have received a Winter Fuel Payment in previous years will receive their payment automatically. It should be paid before Christmas, directly into your bank or building society account, or by cheque sent to your home. However, if you do not claim any pension or benefits and have never received a Winter Fuel Payment contact the Winter Fuel Payments helpline on 08459 15 15 15 to find out about claiming.To qualify for a payment you must have been born on 23 September 1948 or earlier (or 23 September 1928 or earlier for the over-80s amount). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 16. What if I have problems with my pension? If you disagree with a decision about your pension – for example, if you think you aren’t getting enough money – you can challenge it.You need to do this within one month of the date that The Pension Service sent you its decision.You ask for a revision of the decision, then if you are still not happy you can ask for a further appeal.The Pension Service will extend the one-month limit only under very specific circumstances: you should seek advice if you are in this position.Any change made should be backdated to the date of the original decision. If your circumstances change at a later date and this alters your entitlement to pension you can ask for a supersession of the award of pension.Any change made as a result of this would usually only be backdated a maximum of one month from the date that you requested the supersession. If you want to challenge a decision on your pension get advice from SeniorLine on 0808 800 6565 (0808 808 7575 in Northern Ireland) or your local Citizens Advice Bureau. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 17. Occupational and personal pensions Your occupational pension An occupational pension scheme, or company pension scheme, is one run by your employer. Usually, contributions will have been paid into an occupational pension by both you and your employer. If you were a member of an occupational pension scheme, you were probably contracted-out of the additional pension part of the state scheme. If this is the case, the additional pension part of your State Retirement Pension will be reduced (see page 8). No other part of your State Retirement Pension will be affected if you have an occupational pension. Your personal pension You may have chosen to build up your own personal pension over the years.This might affect the amount of additional pension you receive if you have been credited with contributions towards your personal pension instead of paying toward the additional pension part of the State Retirement Pension. However, you will still receive any additional pension you built up before you opted to pay towards your personal pension. No other part of your State Retirement Pension will be affected. At present you are allowed to claim your personal pension from the age of 50.This will rise to 55 from 2010. In 2012 there will be some changes to the rules around contracting out. Depending on the type of personal or occupational pension individuals won’t be able to contract out of the State Second Pension.To find out more about this contact The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265. Information about your pension scheme You have a legal right to information about your occupational or personal pension scheme. If you need any information, you should ask: * for occupational pensions: the manager of your pension scheme; or * for personal pensions: the insurance or pension company which set up your personal pension; but if your pension is made up of several different policies, you will need to contact the agent who made the arrangement for you originally. You may, however, have lost track of an occupational or personal pension that you built up years ago; perhaps the company you worked for has since gone out of business or important documents have been lost. If you are in this situation,The Pension Service may be able to help; it runs a free pension-tracing service, tracking down pension schemes for people who can’t locate them. Contact the Pension Tracing Service,The Pension Service, Tyneview Park,Whitley Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE98 1BA or call 0845 600 2537. Problems with occupational and personal pensions If you have a problem relating to your occupational or personal pension scheme, try to sort it out with your employer or the pension provider. If the problem can’t be solved at this level, contact the Pensions Advisory Service.This independent organisation offers free help and advice on pensions. It can be contacted at 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB or by calling 0845 601 2923 or visiting www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 18 - Further information Citizens Advice Bureau Your local Citizens Advice Bureau will be listed in your phone book. The Pensions Advisory Service 11 Belgrave Road London SW1V 1RB Helpline: 0845 601 2923 Web: www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk An independent organisation that provides information and guidance on pensions.The service covers state, company, personal and stakeholder schemes. The Pension Service In England,Wales and Scotland, State Retirement Pension and Pension Credit claims are dealt with by The Pension Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions.The normal way to deal with The Pension Service is over the phone by calling 0845 60 60 265.You can make an appointment to talk to someone at your local pension centre or ask someone to visit you at home if necessary. In Northern Ireland the Pension Service falls under the Social Security Agency and deals with State Retirement Pension and Bereavement Benefit. For information on your pension and benefits, visit your local benefits office. Or you can contact the Northern Ireland Pension Service at: The Pension Service Windsor House 9–15 Bedford Street Belfast BT2 7UE Tel: 028 9054 9393 Web: www.dsdni.gov.uk The Pension Service phone numbers If you would like a forecast of how much pension you will get, call 0845 300 0168 to request form BR19. Please note that currently you can only request a forecast if you will be retiring before 6 April 2010. To request a claim form or to have the form filled in over the phone call 0845 60 60 265 (0808 100 2658 if you live in Northern Ireland, or 0845 60 60 275 if you are a Welsh speaker). If you use a textphone, call 0845 60 60 285 (0808 100 2198 for Northern Ireland; 0845 60 60 295 for Welsh language textphone users). If you have a query about your pension once you have claimed it call 0845 60 60 265. In Northern Ireland call 028 9054 9822. The Pension Service has a website which contains a lot of useful information, www.thepensionservice.gov.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 19. Contacting our services Home support Gifted Housing A unique range of support services and care benefits provided to home donors. Call 01225 447 800. HandyVan A free home security and safety service offered to older people who meet a charitable criteria. Call 01255 473 999 for more information. Home shopping High-quality,affordable items to make everyday living easier, safer, more comfortable and more enjoyable. Shop online at www.helptheaged.org.uk/shopping or call 0870 770 0442 for a catalogue. Insurance Home cover. Call 0800 022 3175 or visit www.intunegroup.co.uk/home* SeniorLink A home telephone service that connects you to a response centre for emergency assistance or reassurance (24 hours). Call 0845 053 2306. Information and advice Care Fees Advice Service Specialist advice for anyone entering or already in care,regardless of means. Call freephone 0500 76 74 76 or visit www.helptheaged.org.uk/carefees SeniorLine In Great Britain, call freephone 0808 800 6565 or, in Northern Ireland, 0808 808 7575 for free, confidential and impartial advice on benefits, care and housing issues. Equity Release Service Impartial, whole-of-market advice on all aspects of equity release. Call 0845 2300 820 or visit www.intunegroup.co.uk/equityrelease* Wills Advice Service Free,confidential advice about making a will, for people of state retirement age. Call 020 7239 1965 for a free information pack. Community living Insurance Travel insurance with no age barriers. Call 0800 022 3176 or visit www.intunegroup.co.uk/travel* Insurance Motor insurance with no age barriers. Call 0800 022 3174 or visit www.intunegroup.co.uk/motor* SeniorMobility Helping older people’s groups and projects to purchase vehicles and transport equipment. * intune group ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Help the Aged.Any profits generated from selling products go directly to support charitable activities.