Fillable Printable State Pension Application Form
Fillable Printable State Pension Application Form
State Pension Application Form
These notes tell you more about the State Pension, and help you fill in
your claim form.
Remember
The easy way to claim your State Pension is online or by
phone
• Visit www.gov.uk/state-pension
• Phone The Pension Service claim line on 0800 731 7898.
Lines are open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, except public
holidays.
Calls from a BT landline will be free. Other service providers and mobile
networks may charge.
• If you have speech or hearing difficulties, you can contact us using a
textphone on 0800 731 7339. We welcome calls from Text Relay.
• If English is not your first language, you can ask for an interpreter.
At the same time you can
• apply for Pension Credit
• claim Housing Benefit
Important
This booklet gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a
complete and authoritative statement of the law.
State Pension
Your notes booklet
BR1 Notes 02/14
About your State Pension
Your State Pension is based on the National Insurance (NI) contributions you have
paid, or have been treated as paying, or been credited with, during your working life.
There may be different parts in your State Pension, for example basic State Pension
and additional State Pension.
We can tell you how much State Pension you will get. Call us on 0800 731 7898.
If you are not entitled to the full rate of basic State Pension you may be able to
increase the amount you get by paying voluntary NI contributions for past years.
New rules for paying additional voluntary contributions from
6 April 2009
Customers may be able to improve their basic State Pension by paying up to an
additional six years of voluntary National Insurance contributions for tax years from 6
April 1975 if:
-they reach State Pension age between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2015
-already have 20 qualifying years (including full years of Home Responsibilities
Protection).
Customers who reached State Pension age between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2010
must have at least one paid, or treated as paid, qualifying year.
Payment for the additional years must be made within six years of the date you
reach State Pension age. They can be paid in addition to any voluntary National
Insurance contributions you may be able to pay under the usual time limits.
Additional voluntary National Insurance contributions cannot be paid for any tax year
the whole of which is covered by a married woman’s or widow’s reduced rate
election.
If you do not already have the 20 qualifying years needed to pay additional voluntary
National Insurance contributions you may be able to get them by paying some
voluntary National Insurance contributions under the usual time limits.
If you want to know if you can increase your basic State Pension in this way, get in
touch with us. You can ask us about this at any time, even if you do not want to claim
your State Pension yet.
To find out more about the rates of basic State Pension
● call us on 0800 731 7898
● visit www.gov.uk/state-pension
● ask for a leaflet about social security benefit rates from Jobcentre Plus.
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If you are married or a civil partner
Sometimes you won’t get State Pension based on your own National Insurance
contributions, or your basic State Pension will be less than the full rate. But you may be
able to get basic State Pension based on your husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s
National Insurance contributions if you are
● a woman married to a man, and your husband has reached State Pension age, or
● a married man, and your wife
– was born on or after 6 April 1950 and
– has reached State Pension age, or
● a woman married to a woman, a man married to a man or a civil partner, and
your husband, wife or civil partner
– was born on or after 6 April 1950 and
– has reached State Pension age.
The earliest a man married to a man or a male civil partner will be able to get a basic
State Pension based on his husband’s or civil partner's National Insurance record is
6 April 2015, as this is the date a man born on 6 April 1950 reaches State Pension age.
If you are a married woman and your spouse legally changes gender from male to
female during your marriage, you may be able to have your basic State Pension
improved by using her contributions even if she was born before 6 April 1950. This is
the same treatment as if she had not legally changed her gender.
If you are divorced
You may be able to get an increase of basic State Pension by using your ex-husband or
wife's National Insurance contributions.
If your civil partnership has been dissolved
You may be able to improve your basic State Pension by using your ex-civil partner's
National Insurance contributions.
If you have been widowed
You may be able to improve your basic State Pension by using your late husband or
wife's National Insurance contributions. But you will not be able to improve your basic
State Pension by using the National Insurance contributions of your late husband or
wife if
● you were under State Pension age when your husband or wife died, and
● you remarry or form a civil partnership before you reach State Pension age.
If you were widowed on or after 9 April 2001 and get a bereavement benefit like
Bereavement Allowance or Widowed Parent's Allowance, you will stop getting that
benefit when you reach State Pension age. You will then normally be entitled to State
Pension instead.
If you were widowed before 9 April 2001 and get a widow's benefit like Widow's
Pension or Widowed Mother's Allowance, you can
● claim State Pension from State Pension age, or
● keep getting your Widow's Pension until you are 65, or
● keep getting your Widowed Mother's Allowance for as long as you are entitled to it,
or
● give up your widow's benefit to earn extra State Pension.
Improving your State Pension
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Improving your State Pension continued
If you are more than thirty days away from reaching your State Pension age,
you can get a State Pension statement to help you decide what to do. It will tell
you if you will get more money by claiming State Pension instead of your
widow's benefit.
If you are a surviving civil partner
You may be able to improve your basic State Pension by using your late civil
partner's National Insurance contributions. But you will not be able to improve
your basic State Pension by using the National Insurance contributions of your
late civil partner if
● you were under State Pension age when your civil partner died, and
● you form a new civil partnership or marry before you reach State Pension age.
If you are entitled to Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Bereavement Allowance
because of the death of your civil partner, you will stop getting those benefits
when you reach State Pension age. You will then normally be entitled to State
Pension instead.
Getting an estimate of your State Pension
A State Pension statement will tell you how much you may get when you claim
your State Pension. Your State Pension Statement will be based on your own
National Insurance Contributions.
If you would like a statement call the Future Pension Centre straight away. You
will not be able to get a statement once you are within thirty days of you State
Pension age.
Call them on 0845 3000 168. Lines are open from 8am to 6pm Monday to
Friday. They are closed on public holidays. You will be charged at a local rate if
you call from a BT landline. Charges for calls from mobile phones and cable
networks may be different.
If English is not your first language we can provide an interpreter for you. If you
have speech or hearing difficulties, you can contact them using a textphone on
0845 300 0169. Or you can use Text Relay by dialling 18001 0845 3000 168.
All the information you give them is confidential. They may record some calls to
monitor their standard of service and for training purposes.
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Tracing a lost occupational or personal pension
If you have changed jobs a number of times during your working life, it is
easy to lose contact with an old employer and their pension scheme.
The Pension Tracing Service may be able to help you if you are not sure of
all the details but you
● think you may have an old occupational or personal pension, or
● think you may be a beneficiary of an old pension scheme, or
● you are acting on behalf of someone else.
Tracing all your pension benefits now will help you make decisions in the
future about saving for your retirement. And it will help make sure that you
get all the pension benefits that you are entitled to when you retire.
You can trace a pension by:
● calling us on 0845 600 2537. We will do the trace over the phone or
send you an application form. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am
to 6pm.
● visiting www.gov.uk/state-pension
● writing to:
The Pension Tracing Service
The Pension Service 9
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1LU.
We need to know at least the name of your previous employer or
pension scheme.
If you have speech or hearing difficulties you can contact us using a
textphone on 0845 3000 169.
Or you can use Text Relay by dialling 18001 0845 600 2537.
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Working past State Pension age
If you work past State Pension age, you can increase your income when
you retire. This is because you will have more time to earn and save for
your future.
If you decide to
● work fewer hours
● job share
● do a less demanding role, or
● do seasonal work
check how it will affect any occupational pension schemes you are
paying into.
If you work past State Pension age, you can claim State Pension while you
keep working. The money you earn and the hours you work will not affect
your State Pension, but you may pay tax on your State Pension as well as
the money you earn.
You can also put off your claim to State Pension to earn extra
State Pension or a lump sum.
You may be able to keep working with the same employer while they are
paying you an occupational pension.
Paying National Insurance contributions past
State Pension age
You do not pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions after
State Pension age. If you work for an employer and you are past
State Pension age, you need to give your employer a Certificate of Age
Exception. This certificate tells them that you do not have to pay National
Insurance contributions on the money that you earn.
If you tell us that you are going to keep working when you claim your
State Pension, this certificate will be sent to you automatically.
If you put off claiming State Pension and need a certificate, contact
HM Revenue & Customs. You may have to give them evidence of your
date of birth. You can write to them at:
HM Revenue & Customs NICO
Contributor Caseworkers
Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE99 1ZZ.
If you want to find out more about National Insurance, you should
contact HM Revenue & Customs. You can find the number in the phone
book under HM Revenue & Customs. Or you can visit their website at
www.hmrc.gov.uk
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Putting off your State Pension
You can put off claiming your State Pension when you reach State Pension
age. This means we will not pay you State Pension until you claim it.
Depending how long you put off your claim, you will be able to get extra
State Pension or a lump sum when you do claim. Putting off claiming is also
known as 'State Pension deferral'.
For more information about putting off your claim for State Pension see
'When to claim your State Pension' in Part 3 on page 9 of this booklet.
If you are already getting State Pension, you can stop being paid your
State Pension to earn extra State Pension or a lump sum later on. You can only
do this once and you must normally live in Great Britain. You can put off
claiming State Pension for as long as you like.
Extra State Pension
You can choose to get extra State Pension if you put off claiming your
State Pension for 5 weeks or more. When you do claim, you will get a higher
weekly State Pension for the rest of your life.
The amount of extra State Pension you get is 0.2% of your weekly
State Pension for each week you have put off your claim. This works out at 1%
for every 5 weeks, and 10.4% for a full year.
When your State Pension increases every April, your extra State Pension will
usually increase as well. The State Pension is not increased in all overseas
countries.
Lump sum payment
If you put off claiming your State Pension continuously, for at least one year
or more in a row, you have two choices. You can get extra State Pension or
you can get a lump sum payment instead. You will have to pay tax on the
lump sum. We will only pay you the lump sum once.
The lump sum payment is made up of the State Pension you would have got if
you had not put off claiming, plus interest. We will add interest to the lump
sum payment for each week that you put off claiming. We will add the
interest at 2% above the Bank of England’s base rate.
You can get the lump sum when you start to claim your State Pension or in
the following tax year. You will also get your normal State Pension when you
start claiming.
How putting off your claim is affected by other benefits
If you put off claiming State Pension while getting other benefits, you will not
build up any extra State Pension or lump sum for the days that you get the
other benefit. These other benefits include:
● Carer’s Allowance
● Severe Disablement Allowance
● Unemployability Supplement
● Widow’s Pension
● Widowed Mother’s Allowance
● Incapacity Benefit
● Pension Credit.
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Putting off your State Pension continued
Also you will not be able to build up extra State Pension or a lump sum for the
days that you or your partner, if you have one, get one or more of the following
income-related benefits:
● Pension Credit
● Income Support
● income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
● income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
We use partner to mean
● a person you are married to or a person you live with as if you are married to
them, or
● a civil partner or a person you live with as if you are civil partners.
Taxation
You may have to pay tax on your State Pension. And if you decide to take the
extra State Pension, you will have to pay tax on that as well. If you decide to
take the lump sum instead of extra State Pension you may have to pay tax on
the lump sum.
Extra State Pension will be taken into account for Pension Credit and Housing
Benefit, just like other types of income.
The lump sum will not affect your claim for Pension Credit or Housing Benefit.
To find out more about tax and the State Pension visit www.gov.uk
What do I have to do?
You do not have to tell us if
● you want to put off claiming your State Pension, or
● you want to keep putting off claiming it.
But if you get another social security benefit you need to tell us what you want
to do.
If you are thinking about putting off your claim, it is important that you find out
more about this option before you decide. This booklet can only give general
information. There is more information on our website at
www.gov.uk/state-pension
You may also want to get independent financial advice. You may have to pay
for this.
If you are currently putting off claiming your State Pension
You may also benefit from the choices available. To find out more,
please contact us on 0800 731 7898.
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Notes to help you fill in your claim form
Part 1 – About you
Use this part of the form to tell us your personal details.
Part 2 – About your husband, wife or civil partner
Answer all the questions on the form that apply to your husband, wife or civil partner,
if you have one.
If you have told us that you are married or in a civil partnership you should send
us your
● marriage certificate, or
● civil partnership certificate.
If you have told us that you are divorced or your marriage has been annulled or your
civil partnership has been dissolved you should send us your
● divorce certificate (decree absolute, decree of divorce, certificate of annulment), or
● civil partnership dissolution certificate.
We need to see the original certificate, not a photocopy.
You must remember to send us the certificates we ask for. We will return them within
5 working days. If we need to keep them longer, we will tell you why. Phone us on
0800 731 7898 if any of this will cause you difficulties. If you do not, benefit you can
get from this claim may be delayed.
Part 3 – When to claim your State Pension
State Pension payday is a fixed day of the week. Any money that you earn will not
affect your State Pension but may affect your income tax.
You will need to contact us to make a separate claim for any State Pension you qualify
for based on your husband's, wife's or civil partner's National Insurance record if:
● you qualify for some State Pension based on your own National Insurance record and
you claim this before they reach State Pension age, and
● when they reach State Pension age they decide to put off claiming their own State
Pension.
Time limits
We can accept your claim if it is received no earlier than 4 months before the date you
wish to get State Pension, or the date you reach State Pension age, whichever is the
later.
Your State Pension cannot be backdated more than 12 months before the date your
claim is received.
If you ask us to backdate your State Pension claim, we will work out how much State
Pension you are due, back to the date you tell us you want your claim to start from,
and pay you this amount. This payment does not include any interest, and you will not
earn extra State Pension or a lump-sum payment for the period you backdate your
claim for.
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Part 3 – When to claim your State Pension continued
Delaying your claim to State Pension
You might want to think about a more flexible approach to your retirement. If
you want to, you can continue to work longer, or work part-time, whether or not
you have claimed your State Pension.
If you put off claiming your State Pension until a time that suits you, you can get
extra State Pension or a one-off taxable lump sum payment.
Depending on how long you put off your claim for, when you finally claim your
State Pension, you can choose either:
● extra State Pension, paid for life on top of your normal weekly State Pension, or
● a one-off, taxable lump-sum payment, plus your normal weekly State Pension.
The minimum period you must put off claiming your State Pension to get extra
State Pension is 5 weeks, or 12 consecutive months to get a lump sum payment.
Extra State Pension
If you choose extra State Pension, you can get an extra 1% on top of your weekly
State Pension for every five weeks that you put off claiming – this is the same as
10.4% extra for every year you put off claiming. So, if you put off claiming for a
year, you could get about £1 extra for every £10 of your weekly State Pension.
One-off lump sum payment
This is a one-off payment based on the amount of State Pension you would have
received in the period you put off claiming. It also includes interest, which will
always be at least 2% above the Bank of England base rate. As well as getting
your lump sum, you will also get your weekly State Pension, paid at the normal
rate from when you start claiming it.
You can put off claiming your State Pension for as long as you like to build up
either extra State Pension or a lump sum. You could also choose to have your
State Pension backdated.
Circumstances when putting off claiming your State Pension does not earn
extra money
If you put off claiming your State Pension for more than five weeks, there are
certain circumstances in which you might not earn extra State Pension. Or if you
have put off claiming your State Pension for more than 12 months there are
certain circumstances in which you might not earn a lump sum payment. For
example if since reaching State Pension age you or your partner have received
certain other benefits, or someone else has received an increase of another
benefit for you, or you have been in prison.
If you want more information about delaying your claim to State Pension please
contact us on 0800 731 7898.
Notes to help you fill in your claim form continued
10
Part 4 – How we pay you
Please read these notes before you complete Part 4 of the claim form.
We normally pay your money into an account
Many banks and building societies will let you collect your money at a post office.
We will tell you when the first and second payment will be made and how much
each is for.
We will tell you if the amount we pay into the account is going to change.
Finding out how much we have paid into the account
You can check your payments on account statements. The statements may show
your National Insurance (NI) number next to any payments we have made. If you
think a payment is wrong, get in touch with the office that pays you straight away.
If we pay you too much money
If we pay you too much money we have the right to take back any money we pay
that you are not entitled to. For example, you may give us some information which
means you are entitled to less money. Sometimes we may not be able to change
the amount we have already paid you. This means we will have paid you money
that you are not entitled to. We will contact you before we take back any money.
We will contact you before we take back any money.
About the account you want to use
● You can use an account in your name, or a joint account
● You can use someone else’s account if
– the terms and conditions of their account allow this, and
– they agree to let you use their account, and
– you are sure they will use your money in the way you tell them
● You can use a credit union account. You must tell us the Credit Union's account
details. Your Credit Union will be able to help you with this.
● if you are an appointee or legal representative acting on behalf of the
customer, the account should be in your name only.
It is very important you fill in ALL the boxes in the claim form correctly,
including the building society roll or reference number, if you have one. If you
tell us the wrong account details your payment may be delayed or you may
lose money.
You can find the account details on your chequebook or bank statements. If you do
not know the account details, ask the bank or building society.
What to do now
● Tell us about the account you want to use in Part 4 of the claim form. By giving
us your account details you
– agree that we will pay you into an account, and
– understand what we have told you above in the section
If we pay you too much money.
● If you are going to open an account, please tell us your account details as soon
as you get them.
● If you do not have an account, please contact us and we will give you more
information.
Fill in the rest of the claim form. You do not have to wait until you have opened
an account or contacted us.
Notes to help you fill in your claim form continued
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