Last Updated on AUG 22, 2026
Yes, you can defer your State Pension in the UK by not claiming it when you reach State Pension age. If you do not make a claim, your State Pension is automatically deferred.
State Pension age is also currently being phased from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028, so it is worth checking your individual State Pension age before deciding when to claim.
For people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, deferring for at least nine weeks can increase future payments by 1% for every nine weeks, equivalent to just under 5.8% for a full year. People who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 remain under the older deferral rules.
Key points for 2026/27:
- The full new State Pension is £241.30 per week
- The full basic State Pension is £184.90 per week
- Up to 52 weeks of deferred new State Pension can be taken as a one-off arrears payment
- Certain benefits prevent you from building extra State Pension while deferring
- If you have already started receiving State Pension, you can generally suspend it only once
- Inheritance of deferred State Pension mainly applies where the deceased reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016
- Deferral is possible while living abroad, although future increases depend on the country where you live
The 2026/27 State Pension rates increased from £230.25 to £241.30 for the full new State Pension and from £176.45 to £184.90 for the full basic State Pension.
How Does Deferring Your State Pension Work?
If you reach State Pension age and do not apply for your pension, it’s automatically deferred. You don’t need to contact anyone unless you later want to claim it.
The options available to you will depend on when you were born and whether you reached State Pension age before or after 6 April 2016.
If you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, you can:
- Receive extra regular payments
- Backdate your claim by up to 12 months and receive a one-off arrears payment
- Combine the two (i.e., get 12 months as arrears and the rest as increased weekly income)
If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, the rules are slightly different. You can choose between:
- A one-off lump sum (with interest)
- Increased weekly payments
Note: You can’t have both unless you deferred before 2005.
How Much Extra Money Can You Get From Deferring?
The financial return from deferring your State Pension depends on how long you delay your claim and which pension system applies to you.
If you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, for every 9 weeks you defer, your payments increase by 1%. This amounts to about 5.8% extra for every full year of deferral.
Let’s look at an example:
| Deferral Duration | 2026/27 Weekly State Pension | Approx. Weekly Increase | Approx. Extra Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 weeks | £241.30 | £13.99 | £727.48 |
| 104 weeks | £241.30 | £27.99 | £1,455.48 |
If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, for every 5 weeks you defer, your pension increases by 1%, which equates to about 10.4% per year.
Example for basic State Pension:
| Deferral Duration | 2026/27 Weekly Basic State Pension | Approx. Weekly Increase | Approx. Extra Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 weeks | £184.90 | £19.22 | £999.44 |
For people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, the rule remains 1% for every five weeks, or just under 10.4% for a full year. GOV.UK’s current example gives an additional £19.22 per week after a 52-week deferral based on the £184.90 full basic State Pension.
Can You Take A One-Off Payment Instead?
Yes, but only in certain circumstances. If you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, you can backdate your claim by up to 12 months and receive a one-off arrears payment. No interest is added to this amount.
For the 2026/27 full new State Pension:
- Deferring for 52 weeks can produce a one-off arrears payment of £12,547.60
- Deferring for 27 weeks can produce a one-off arrears payment of £6,515.10
No interest is added to these arrears payments. If the person has deferred for more than 52 weeks, up to 52 weeks can be taken as arrears and the remaining deferred period can be reflected in increased regular State Pension payments.
What Are The Rules If You’re Already Claiming?
This is a common question: Can you defer your State Pension after you’ve already claimed it?
Yes, in some cases, you can suspend your pension once it’s in payment and restart it later.
This allows you to build up more deferred income. However, you can’t keep switching it on and off multiple times without restrictions. It’s essential to speak to the Pension Service before making such a decision.
There’s also a misconception that you can defer for short periods like 3 or 6 months. While technically possible, deferral benefits only start accumulating after a minimum of 9 weeks (for new pensions) or 5 weeks (for basic pensions). Therefore, short deferrals may not make a significant difference.
From a personal viewpoint, I found this part of the process surprisingly flexible. When I explored this option myself, I was reassured to know that deferral isn’t a permanent decision; you can change your mind later, though you must act carefully to follow the right channels.
How Will Your Benefits Be Affected If You Defer?
Deferring State Pension can interact with means-tested and income-related benefits, but the effect depends on the benefit involved.
You cannot normally build up extra State Pension for periods when you receive benefits including Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Widow’s Pension, Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Unemployability Supplement.
You also cannot build up extra State Pension during certain periods when your partner receives Income Support, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction should be treated differently. They are not included in GOV.UK’s current list of benefits that automatically stop you building deferred State Pension.
However, once you begin receiving increased State Pension payments, that additional income can reduce the amount of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or other means-tested support you receive.
| Benefit Situation | Effect On Deferred State Pension |
|---|---|
| You receive one of the specified income-related or qualifying benefits | Extra State Pension may not build up during that period |
| Your partner receives certain specified benefits | Extra State Pension may not build up during that period |
| Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction | These are not listed as automatically stopping deferral accrual, but increased State Pension can affect the amount received |
| No affected benefits are being claimed | Deferred State Pension can normally continue building |
There is also an important Pension Credit point worth retaining: if someone defers their State Pension, the State Pension they could be receiving can generally still be treated as income when Pension Credit entitlement is calculated.
What Happens If You Die While Your Pension Is Deferred?
Inheritance of deferred State Pension depends heavily on when the person who deferred reached State Pension age.
The specific deferred-pension inheritance rules mainly apply where the deceased partner reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016.
A surviving spouse or civil partner can usually inherit the deferred amount where they were married or in a civil partnership when the person died, the deceased had deferred their State Pension or was receiving their extra deferred pension, and the surviving partner did not remarry or enter another civil partnership before reaching State Pension age.
If an eligible partner died before claiming their deferred State Pension:
- Deferred for one year or more: The surviving partner can usually choose between a lump sum and regular inherited payments
- Deferred for between five weeks and one year: The deferred amount is normally inherited as regular payments
- Deferred for less than five weeks: The unpaid State Pension for those weeks can become part of the deceased’s estate
If the deceased had already started receiving their extra deferred State Pension, an eligible surviving partner can usually inherit it as additional regular State Pension payments.
People under the new State Pension system should not assume that their own deferred increase will automatically pass to a spouse or civil partner.
Separate transitional inheritance rules can apply to Additional State Pension and protected payments, so entitlement depends on both partners’ dates and circumstances.
Can You Defer More Than Once?
If you have not yet claimed your State Pension, you can simply continue deferring it until you decide to claim.
The position is different once State Pension payments have already started. You may be able to suspend your State Pension and restart it later, allowing an additional deferred amount to build up. However, you can generally choose to suspend your State Pension only once.
This means State Pension cannot normally be repeatedly switched on and off to create several separate periods of deferral.
Anyone considering suspension after payments have started should contact the Pension Service before making the change because the decision can affect future payments, tax and means-tested benefits.
What Are The Risks Of Deferring?
While deferring can be beneficial in the long run, it’s not without risk. Here are some potential downsides to consider:
- You may not live long enough to benefit from the increased payments
- Tax implications if the extra income pushes you into a higher tax band
- Loss of access to other benefits if deferral increases your overall income
- You might forget to claim, especially after years of deferral
- Interest is not added to deferred payments under the new system
The break-even point, the time it takes for increased payments to match what you gave up by deferring is usually 15 years or more.
Using the full 2026/27 new State Pension of £241.30 per week, deferring for 52 weeks means giving up £12,547.60 during that period in return for an increased pension of around £13.99 per week afterwards.
GOV.UK says it can take more than 15 years to recover the value of 52 weeks of deferred full new State Pension, and the period increases with longer deferrals.
What If You Move Abroad Or Live Outside The UK?
If you live abroad, the rules vary depending on the country. If you move to a country in the EEA, Switzerland, or one that has a social security agreement with the UK, your deferred State Pension will work just like in the UK.
If you move to Canada or New Zealand, however, different rules apply. Your extra pension payment will be calculated based on the value at the time you reached State Pension age or the date you moved abroad, whichever is later. It won’t increase over time.
To get accurate information about how your pension will be treated, you should contact the International Pension Centre.
Conclusion
Deferring State Pension remains an option in 2026, but whether it is worthwhile depends on your income, health, tax position, benefits and how long you expect to receive the higher pension.
For 2026/27, the full new State Pension is £241.30 per week, and a 52-week deferral can add around £13.99 per week to future payments or provide up to £12,547.60 in arrears, depending on how the deferred pension is claimed.
However, GOV.UK notes that it can take more than 15 years to recover the value of a full year’s deferred pension through higher weekly payments.
Before deferring, it is particularly important to check whether benefits will prevent extra pension from building, remember that a State Pension already in payment can generally only be suspended once, and understand that inheritance and overseas uprating rules vary according to individual circumstances.
FAQs About Deferring Your State Pension
What’s the minimum time I need to defer to receive extra pension payments?
You must defer for at least 9 weeks under the new State Pension or 5 weeks under the basic State Pension to qualify for increased weekly payments.
Will I pay tax on the extra income from deferring my pension?
Yes, any extra income you receive from deferring, whether as weekly payments or a lump sum, is taxable and could push you into a higher tax bracket.
Can I defer my State Pension if I’m still working full-time?
Yes, you can defer your pension even if you’re working. It might benefit you more if your current income means you don’t need the pension right away.
What happens if I forget to claim my deferred pension?
Your State Pension continues to be deferred until you claim it. Under the new State Pension rules, you can usually take up to 52 weeks of the deferred pension as a one-off arrears payment. If you deferred for longer, the remaining eligible period can be used to increase your regular State Pension payments.
Is it better to take a lump sum or increased weekly payments?
This depends on your age, health, and income needs. Lump sums offer immediate cash, while increased payments may be better long-term if you live longer.
Will deferring affect my Winter Fuel Payment?
If you defer your pension, you must manually claim the Winter Fuel Payment, but only once. It won’t be automatic like it is for those receiving the pension.
Can Deferring My Pension Affect My Spouse’s Entitlement Later?
Yes, especially if you die before claiming. Your spouse or civil partner may inherit some or all of your deferred pension if eligibility criteria are met, particularly under the old pension rules.
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