State pension date confusion

[staffordian]

I am unable to reconcile the dates and amounts of state pension which I've received since attaining pension age in the middle of 2021.

Specifically, based on when my pension started, and how much I've since received, I expected today to receive one week at the old 2021 rate and three at the new 2022 rate, but I received two of each.

Clearly, the amount involved is trivial, but I like to understand the process of how much I'm due and when, and this payment means my understanding is wrong.

Specifically, I can't find precisely when entitlement starts. My first payment was received five days after my birthday and covered five days, after which I received the full figure every 28 days. This implies my pension started on my birthday. But some sources suggest nothing is due until the first pay day after one's birthday, which might be part of my confusion.

Secondly, setting aside actual day of receipt, is everyone's pension calculated on a Monday to Sunday basis, or does this vary based on when one's pension first starts?

And as a follow on, how does this impact when one receives the first higher amount in a new tax year?

Many thanks for any help in clearing my confusion.

[Stompa]

Have you allowed for the fact that the increase in the state pension takes place on the first Monday after the start of the new financial year, so in this case April 11?

[staffordian]

Have you allowed for the fact that the increase in the state pension takes place on the first Monday after the start of the new financial year, so in this case April 11?

Thanks for the reply.

I thought I had; this is the same as my occupational pension.

But to a degree this depends on when my "pension week" starts, hence the original query.

[staffordian]

I think I've sussed it.

If my pension week runs from Friday to the following Thursday, and I'm paid on the 28th day of that period, it seems to work out. I'd fixated on everyone's week starting on a Monday and me being paid the Thursday after the fourth week. This pushed my calculations out by a week.

I'm still unsure why I was paid five days up to my first pay day, but if that's wrong, I can live with that

[FanciThat]

There's are useful article here from SAGA, seems to depend on your birthday and NI number

https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/money/r ... -i-be-paid

Cheers, FT

[staffordian]

There's are useful article here from SAGA, seems to depend on your birthday and NI number

https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/money/r ... -i-be-paid

Cheers, FT

Thank you, that is one of the articles I found, and which to some extent added to my confusion, because despite what that says, I was definitely paid from the date of my birthday.

But that apart, I'm happy I can tie up my payments, and the amount received yesterday, in terms of number of weeks at old and new rate, so it's back to sleep until this time next year

[mc2fool]

And just a quick heads up that you're likely to undergo some more moments of confusion when/if you do your self assessment for the year, and see that (in the online version at least) the amount for your state pension is prefilled and is more than you thought.

DWP/HMRC count the amount of state pension you "earned" during the tax year (your entitlement), not the amount you actually received (which is four weeks in arrears).

[staffordian]

And just a quick heads up that you're likely to undergo some more moments of confusion when/if you do your self assessment for the year, and see that (in the online version at least) the amount for your state pension is prefilled and is more than you thought.

DWP/HMRC count the amount of state pension you "earned" during the tax year (your entitlement), not the amount you actually received (which is four weeks in arrears).

Thanks. I'm across that one, having seen it mentioned here several times.

I did my SA a week or two ago, and strangely, the pre-filled amount was slightly less than the earned figure. Whether this was due to the error the DWP made when they originally told me my entitlement, I'm not sure (they hadn't taken account of my final year's NI), but I used the figure from my spreadsheet, which, even after my confusion mentioned above, is definitely correct.

[Stompa]

There's are useful article here from SAGA, seems to depend on your birthday and NI number

https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/money/r ... -i-be-paid

Cheers, FT

Thank you, that is one of the articles I found, and which to some extent added to my confusion, because despite what that says, I was definitely paid from the date of my birthday.

But that apart, I'm happy I can tie up my payments, and the amount received yesterday, in terms of number of weeks at old and new rate, so it's back to sleep until this time next year

I was puzzled by that too, but it seems to be a rather poorly written article which doesn't make sense in places.