Originally Posted by
dave2010
A quick follow up to previous couple of messages. If anyone is reaching State retirement age, it may be worth considering options for taking the state pension. For various reasons I wanted to defer mine and I calculated that deferring for one or two years would have been optimal. Unfortunately (or was it? ...) I left things longer than that, so it looked as though I was going to have to wait until I get to be around 100 to break even. However, when I did finally get round to it, I was able to take a lump sum which was very useful for a large purchase which would otherwise have been quite difficult to do.
Each person's circumstances are different. If you need the money, then taking the state pension as soon as possible makes sense, but if you don't then deferring can be helpful. When you take the SP you still have the option of taking a larger monthly payment or a lump sum.
Do your own assessment of your needs, and don't let financial advisers sway you too much. Also don't let the DWP rush you into taking the money early if you think deferring will help. However DWP will probably forget about you if you don't take the pension at the first opportunity, so it's best to keep on top of this and periodically check. As it happened things seem to have worked out OK for us, but that wasn't a given.
Ah - another thing which may not be generally known, and I only found out about this after talking to a DWP agent - it may even be possible to take the SP, then subsequently suspend it to get the benefit of a deferral - but for most people I think it's going to make sense to think about a single deferral period, from the date of first eligbility.
Very interesting Dave, I was not aware of this! As things stand I am physically able to do my work (and long may it continue). So it may make sense for me to carry on until it becomes difficult (which hopefully will be beyond retirement age) and by deferring pension I could then receive larger payments when I come to need them.
Reading this back it sounds a bit sad, but my job is quite physical, and when I become unable to continue, it doesn't mean I'll be too knackered to enjoy life the same as mere mortals
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