The State pension provides financial aid to 12.9m people in the UK, The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) has said. The New State Pension, claimed after April 6, 2016, offers up to £221.20 per week.
And the Basic State Pension (Category A or B) provides £169.50 weekly. The amount one receives from this contributory benefit hinges on the number of National Insurance years accumulated before reaching the current retirement age of 66 with a minimum of 10 years required to qualify for any State Pension payment.
Your State Pension age aligns with your Pension Credit qualifying age unless you are a man born before December 6, 1953. You can check your State Pension age and eligibility for Pension Credit on the 'Check your State Pension age' page on the GOV.UK website.
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Reaching State Pension age brings significant changes to benefit claims. Charity Turn2us said: "If you live with a partner and one of you is pension age and the other is not yet pension age, benefit entitlement can be complicated."
According to the charity, you can no longer claim the following benefits when you reach the state pension age:
New applications for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or Adult Disability Payment (ADP) which has taken over PIP claims in Scotland, are also no longer available after reaching State Pension age, Express reports.
Existing recipients of DLA, PIP, or ADP can continue their claims post-State Pension age, provided they reapply for the same health conditions previously awarded and do so within 12 months after their last claim ended and before surpassing State Pension age.
The DWP clarifies that DLA recipients born on or before April 8, 1948, will remain on DLA, while those born later will transition to PIP. In Scotland, individuals currently on DLA or PIP will move to Social Security Scotland's system by the end of 2025.
Bereavement Support Payment and Widowed Parent's Allowance also cease to be options once State Pension age is reached.
If you have surpassed the State Pension age, these benefits are still available for claim: