New state pension or benefit claimants cannot use Post Office accounts

People who start getting the state pension or receiving benefits from this week onward are barred from using a Post Office card account to collect their cash. The Government has announced new applicants will have to use a bank account, or a special scheme called the HMG Payment Exception Service if they can’t open one, … Read more

Married women get new tool to check their state pension is correct

Married women who fear they are being underpaid state pension can use new tool to check their record State pension scandal: Underpayments tot up to £35k-plus in our probe to date  The DWP has refused to confirm whether a full, systematic review is under way Are you being underpaid? Steve Webb and his firm LCP … Read more

Elderly in care face ‘postcode lottery’ on deferred payment agreements

Take-up of a scheme allowing people to delay selling their houses to pay care home fees exposes a ‘postcode lottery’, according to research by a law firm. A selective survey of 10 local authorities reveals that the rate of deferred payment agreements among self-funded care home residents ‘varies wildly’ from 0.9 per cent in East … Read more

I cashed in my £91k pension to buy a house but was overtaxed

I cashed in my entire private pension which was £91,000. I received around £62,000  and I applied for tax back four months ago. I still work but have been off the last five months with anxiety and depression, so obviously haven’t earned the same as usual. I’ve earned just over £8,000 this year. I bought … Read more

Savers told not to make unnecessary early withdrawals from pensions

Beware the early pension tax trap: Savers told not to make unnecessary early withdrawals By Ben Wilkinson for the Daily Mail Published: 22:00 BST, 12 May 2020 | Updated: 00:15 BST, 13 May 2020 Savers are being warned not to make unnecessary early withdrawals from their pensions or risk triggering a costly tax trap. With … Read more

When should you retire and is tapping a pension early a good idea?

Workers typically undertake a five-year journey to retirement during their mid-60s, research reveals. Pension freedom reforms give older people greater control over when they retire, and on average they begin to tap their savings at 62 and stop work at 64, figures show. That means they must use private savings during the gap before starting … Read more

Why insurance firms MUST release pensioners from annuity austerity

Pensioners are urging insurers to help them through the virus crisis by giving them a lump sum rather than paltry drawn-out annuity payments. Money Mail has long campaigned for pensioners trapped with small annuities to be allowed to take a more meaning- ful amount. Alan Fowler, 72, has an annuity from Legal & General (L&G) … Read more

Savers transferring final salary pensions will get warning letters

Any saver expressing interest in ditching a final salary pension is to be warned off in a letter telling them it’s unlikely to be in their best interests. Regulators have ordered pension schemes to start sending anyone requesting a cash valuation a letter urging them not to act in haste during the coronavirus outbreak, and … Read more

Six MORE elderly women underpaid total of £22k in state pension

Paid £6k: Glenis Madden had previously asked the DWP to check her state pension – but was told it was CORRECT just a few months ago An untold number of elderly women could have lost out on thousands of pounds in state pension due to a devastating blunder by the Government. In the past few weeks, … Read more

Are YOU a married woman who is underpaid state pension?

Are you being underpaid state pension? How to check if YOU are due more By Tanya Jefferies for Thisismoney.co.uk Published: 07:30 BST, 5 May 2020 | Updated: 07:30 BST, 5 May 2020 Married women who retired on small state pensions before April 2016 should get an uplift to 60 per cent of their husband’s payments … Read more