DWP Monday change hands older state pensioners £739 before June | Personal Finance | Finance
State Pension payments due on a bank holiday will instead be paid on the earliest working day before (Image: Getty)
Older state pensioners with a specific two digit code at the end of their National Insurance number can expect an early payment of up to £739.60 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) before June.
The payment change comes as a result of the spring bank holiday in the final week of May, forcing the DWP to issue State Pension payments on a different day than normal. As the bank holiday falls on Monday, May 25, pensioners who would normally be due a payment on this date will instead be paid on the earliest working day before, which will be Friday, May 22. Pensioners can determine when their usual payment date falls by checking their National Insurance number, with the final two digits corresponding to a day of the week.
Those who have a National Insurance number ending in 00 to 19 will normally be paid on a Monday, and as such, this may coincide with the upcoming May bank holiday.
Read More: HMRC confirms £200 tax charge rule for UK households
Read More: Older state pensioners get boosted £8.45 weekly payments in May
When you first claim the State Pension, you choose the date when you want to receive your payment, and this date corresponds to the two-digit code at the end of your National Insurance Number.
The last two digits of your National Insurance number specify the day of the week that payments are normally issued, as follows:
20 to 39 – paid on Tuesday
40 to 59 – paid on Wednesday
60 to 79 – paid on Thursday
80 to 99 – paid on Friday
So if your National Insurance number ends in 00 to 19, your usual payment date falls on a Monday, which may line up with the spring Bank Holiday on May 25. In this case, the DWP will instead send your payment three days earlier on Friday, May 22, meaning claimants will have to stretch their cash a little longer over the following month.
The DWP said: “You’ll be asked when you want to start getting your State Pension when you claim. Your first payment will be no later than 5 weeks after the date you choose. You’ll get a full payment every 4 weeks after that.
“You might get part of a payment before your first full payment. The letter confirming your State Pension payment will tell you what to expect.
“The day your pension is paid depends on your National Insurance number. You might be paid earlier if your normal payment day is a bank holiday.”
If your usual State Pension payment date is changing this month you don’t need to do anything as your money will be paid straight into your usual bank, building society or credit union account.
This will be the second time State Pension payments are disrupted in May, as the DWP has already issued a round of early payments ahead of the early May Bank Holiday on May 4.
But despite some disruption to payments this month, pensioners can look forward to higher payments thanks to the 4.8% uplift to State Pension rates on April 6.
This uplift, which will be reflected in May payments, means older pensioners on the basic State Pension can now get £184.90 per week from the DWP, if they’re eligible for the full amount.
And as the State Pension is paid every four weeks, those with a full qualifying National Insurance record can get up to £739.60 in every four-week payment period under the new rates.
As for those on the new State Pension, the full weekly rate is now worth £241.30, meaning pensioners can get up to £965.20 every four weeks from the DWP.
