State Pension currently provides essential financial support for 12.5 million older people across the UK, including some 981,399 living in Scotland. This regular payment is available for those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is now 66 for both men and women, and have paid at least 10 years’ of National Insurance contributions.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) delivers the contributory benefit and recently shared that the latest forecasts indicate that 738,300 older people are set to receive their State Pension for the first time in the 2022/23 financial year. However, many people approaching the official retirement age may not be aware that the money is not paid automatically and needs to be claimed, or they could miss out on payments of up to £185.15 every week.
You should receive a letter no later than two months before you reach State Pension age, telling you what to do. It gives you the choice of claiming it or deferring it, if you defer you do no need to do anything.
