How to Defer Your State Pension and What the Extra Is Worth (2026/27)

Deferring the new State Pension adds 1% for every 9 weeks you wait. How to defer, how to claim later, the breakeven maths and who should not defer.

2026/27 tax year

Pensions & Retirement
Personal
UK-wide

Summary

You defer the State Pension by not claiming it when you reach State Pension age; GOV.UK says it defers automatically and you do not have to do anything.
If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, you must defer for at least 9 weeks, and every 9 weeks adds 1% to your weekly pension for life, just under 5.8% for each 52 weeks.
On the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week, deferring 52 weeks adds £13.99 a week, and GOV.UK says it takes over 15 years to get back the year of pension you gave up.
You cannot build up extra State Pension while you or your partner get Pension Credit, Universal Credit or income-related ESA, and the extra can reduce means-tested benefits.
The extra State Pension is taxable income, so check whether it takes your total income above your Personal Allowance.

This guide is general information, not advice.

This guide is for anyone nearing State Pension age who is wondering whether to claim straight away or wait. It covers the procedure — deferring, claiming later, and suspending a pension already in payment — and the arithmetic, so you can see what the extra is worth before you decide.

At the end you will know what you have to do (usually nothing), the exact increase GOV.UK applies, how long it takes to recover the pension you went without, and whether a benefit you or your partner get rules deferral out.

Before you start

Your State Pension age. Check it with GOV.UK’s State Pension age tool. The deferral rules depend on it: the new rules below apply if you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016 (men born on or after 6 April 1951, women born on or after 6 April 1953), per GOV.UK.
Your forecast. Check your State Pension forecast so you know your weekly amount. The percentages below apply to your own rate, not only the full rate.
Your invitation letter. GOV.UK says the online claim needs the invitation code from the letter about getting your State Pension (how to claim). Keep it for when you decide to claim.
A list of benefits you and your partner get. This decides whether deferral builds up anything at all (see step 2).

Step-by-step

To defer, do not claim. GOV.UK: “If you do not claim your State Pension at State Pension age, it automatically defers. You do not have to do anything.” You can ignore the invitation letter. The new State Pension is not paid unless you claim it (how to claim).
If you or your partner get benefits, tell the Pension Service. GOV.UK says you must tell the Pension Service if you’re on benefits and want to defer (if you get benefits). Contact details are on Contact the Pension Service. Check first whether deferral can build up anything for you — see Who should not defer.
Defer for at least 9 weeks. Under the new State Pension you must defer for at least 9 weeks before you can claim increased payments, and every 9 weeks adds 1% to your weekly pension for life — “just under 5.8% for every 52 weeks” (GOV.UK). The extra usually rises each year with the Consumer Price Index, but GOV.UK says it will not rise for some people who live abroad.
Stop deferring by claiming. When you want your pension, claim it through the new State Pension claim service online with your invitation code, by phone, or by post on a form the Pension Service sends you. Northern Ireland and overseas claims use a different route.
Choose how to take what you deferred. For the new State Pension, GOV.UK offers three options: a one-off arrears payment of up to 52 weeks, increased regular payments (“extra State Pension”), or both. Arrears carry no interest, and anything deferred beyond 52 weeks comes as extra State Pension. Taking arrears means you do not get the weekly increase for those weeks.
Claim Winter Fuel Payment yourself. GOV.UK says you need to claim Winter Fuel Payment if you’ve deferred your State Pension, and that you only need to do this once.
Already receiving it? You can suspend it once. Section 16 of the Pensions Act 2014 lets a person entitled to the new State Pension opt to suspend it “in accordance with regulations”, and subsection (4) says this cannot be done on more than one occasion. A suspended period counts as deferral for the increase under section 17(7). Ask the Pension Service how to do it.

Deadlines and what happens next

There is no deadline to claim. For the new State Pension, the only time limit that matters is the 52-week cap on a one-off arrears payment: anything older than that comes only as a higher weekly rate (GOV.UK). GOV.UK gives an example: defer 78 weeks, backdate the claim by 12 months for £12,547.60 of arrears, and the other 26 weeks add £6.97 a week (2.89% of £241.30).

GOV.UK’s deferral guide does not state a processing time for the claim.

Common mistakes

Deferring for less than 9 weeks. Nothing builds up. Section 17(2) of the Pensions Act 2014 also stops any increase under 1% of your weekly rate.
Deferring while on Pension Credit or Universal Credit. Those weeks do not count towards the increase, for you or your partner.
Expecting interest on the arrears. GOV.UK says the one-off arrears payment for the new State Pension has no interest added.
Forgetting Winter Fuel Payment. It is not automatic while you are deferring.
Assuming the old 10.4% rate applies. That rate is for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, not the new State Pension.

Who should not defer

GOV.UK says you cannot build up extra State Pension while you get Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Widow’s Pension, Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Unemployability Supplement. It also cannot build up while your partner gets Pension Credit, Universal Credit or income-related ESA (if you get benefits).

Even when it does build up, GOV.UK warns that taking the extra as higher regular payments could reduce Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related ESA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction. For a household on means-tested support, deferral can mean waiting for money that is then partly taken back.

For those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, the old rules still apply: 1% for every 5 weeks (just under 10.4% a year), or a lump sum with interest at 2% above the Bank of England base rate after at least 12 months (GOV.UK).

Worked example

The figures are the full new State Pension for 2026/27, £241.30 a week (GOV.UK), and the deferral example on GOV.UK’s deferral guide.

What you give up. 52 weeks × £241.30 = £12,547.60, GOV.UK’s own figure for a 52-week arrears payment.

What you gain. GOV.UK: deferring 52 weeks adds £13.99 a week (5.8% of £241.30). Over a 52-week year that is £13.99 × 52 = £727.48.

Breakeven, plain arithmetic. £12,547.60 ÷ £727.48 = 17.2 years of the higher pension before the extra adds up to what you went without. That figure ignores the yearly uprating of both the pension and the extra. GOV.UK’s own estimate is that it “will take over 15 years” to get back 52 weeks of deferred full new State Pension, and that this rises by around a year for each further 52 weeks you defer. Deferring pays off only if you draw the pension for longer than that.

Tax on the extra. State Pension is taxable income (Tax when you get a pension). The full new State Pension over 52 weeks, £12,547.60, is just under the 2026/27 Personal Allowance of £12,570. Add a year’s deferral and the total is £12,547.60 + £727.48 = £13,275.08. If that is your only income, £705.08 is taxable: at the 20% basic rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is £141.02 a year. In Scotland the first slice above the Personal Allowance is taxed at the 19% starter rate, which gives £133.97. In that case the year you gave up would have been tax-free, but the extra is not, so the after-tax gain is £727.48 − £141.02 = £586.46 a year and the plain-arithmetic breakeven stretches to £12,547.60 ÷ £586.46 = 21.4 years. If other income already uses up your Personal Allowance, the pension you gave up and the extra are taxed at the same rate (if both fall in the same band) and the pre-tax breakeven holds.

Frequently asked questions

How do I defer my State Pension?

Do nothing. GOV.UK says that if you do not claim your State Pension at State Pension age it automatically defers and you do not have to do anything. The exception is if you get benefits: then you must tell the Pension Service that you want to defer.

How much does deferring the State Pension increase it by?

If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, you get 1% added to your weekly pension for every 9 weeks you defer, which GOV.UK says is just under 5.8% for every 52 weeks. You must defer for at least 9 weeks to get any increase. On the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week, 52 weeks of deferral adds £13.99 a week.

Is it worth deferring the State Pension?

It depends on how long you draw it. Deferring 52 weeks of the full new State Pension gives up £12,547.60 and adds £13.99 a week, and GOV.UK says it takes over 15 years to get that back, with around a year more for each further 52 weeks you defer. If you get Pension Credit or Universal Credit, you cannot build up any extra at all.

Can I stop my State Pension once it has started so I can defer?

Section 16 of the Pensions Act 2014 lets someone entitled to the new State Pension opt to suspend it in accordance with regulations, and says you cannot do this on more than one occasion. Contact the Pension Service to do it.

Is extra State Pension from deferring taxable?

Yes, it counts as income. GOV.UK says any extra payments you get from deferring could be taxed, and State Pension counts towards your total income for Income Tax, so you pay tax if your total income is above your Personal Allowance.