Paul Lewis
As the cost of living increases, a record number of people are working beyond retirement age. But while this may give your income a boost, it comes with implications, as our expert explains
by PAUL LEWIS
GETTY
Whether it’s the need for money, boredom, or just wanting to be useful, more and more people over 65 are working – arecord 1.5 million. Some will just not have stopped; others have returned. But if you do work past pension age – which is now, of course, 66 – there are financial implications.
State pension
You do not have to claim your state pension at the age of 66. You can leave it until you need it. Every few weeks unclaimed will increase the amount you get when you eventually do claim. How much it increases depends on your date of birth. If you are a new state pensioner (women born 6 April 1953 or later, men born 6 April 1951 or later) it increases by 1% for each nine weeks you defer it. So a year’s delay means an increase of nearly 5.8%. Older people who reached state pension before 6 April 2016 get a better deal. Their pension is increased by 1% for each five weeks delay, so leaving it a year adds 10.4%. Five years will increase it by more than half. If you have already started claiming your pension you can unclaim it GETTY and earn these increments – but you can only do that once.