Call for Evidence: State Pension deferral

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking evidence about people’s experiences of deferring their State Pension, and ATT intends to respond to the call for evidence.

We would particularly welcome evidence from members who have advised or assisted clients who have deferred their State Pension, considered doing so, or claimed their pension after a period of deferral.

We are interested in practical experience of:

• why individuals choose to defer, or decide not to defer, their State Pension;
• how well individuals understand the options available to them;
• whether the distinction between deferral, backdating a claim and receiving arrears is clear;
• whether individuals understood the financial and tax consequences of their decision;
• any unexpected tax or administrative consequences following a decision to defer;
• difficulties understanding or reconciling State Pension figures for tax purposes; and
• experiences of DWP and HMRC information and guidance.

Real examples are particularly valuable. These can be anonymised and do not need to involve unusual or particularly complex circumstances. If a client was confused by the rules, received an unexpected tax result, or found particular guidance helpful or unhelpful, we would be interested to hear about it.

Please send your comments to [email protected] by 12 November.

Please ensure that any examples provided are anonymised and do not contain information from which an individual client could be identified.