MONEY EXPERT’S WARNING OVER FORGOTTEN PENSIONERS

A leading financial advisor is urging people to check that they or their relatives are not missing out on weekly State Pension payments of £82.

Mike Jordan, of Jordan Financial Management, spoke out after it was revealed that more than 107,000 people aged over 80 are missing out on the payments, prompting calls for government action.

He said: “If you’re aged 80 or over, you are immediately entitled to what’s known as a Category D pension, which is worth £82.45 a week.

“Crucially, this is a non-contributory payment, which means you do not need to have paid any National Insurance in the past to be eligible for it.

“The government automatically rolls many people onto the Category D payment if they’re already receiving a state pension before they turn 80.

“But the problem is that over-80s who previously received no state pension have to claim the Category D payment themselves – the Government doesn’t notify them that they are eligible.

“So, many are unaware they are owed state pension money, and never claim it.

“It’s so important that people are paid the state pension that they are entitled to – and there must be a strong argument that the system should be automated, so everyone is notified about their entitlement.”

The over 80 pension is only available to those reaching their state pension age before 6 April 2016, i.e. under the old system. It can be claimed if all of the following apply:

• They’re 80 or over (the earliest it can be claimed is three months before their 80th birthday)
• They don’t get basic state pension or their basic State Pension is less than £82.45 a week in 2021/22
• They were resident in England, Scotland or Wales for at least ten years out of 20 (this doesn’t have to be 10 years in a row) – This 20 year period must include the day before they turned 80 or any day after
• They were ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar on their 80th birthday or the date they made the claim for this pension, if later
• Eligibility for the over 80 pension is not based on National Insurance contributions.

Mike, whose company celebrated its 25^th anniversary last year, said: “This special state pension is payable to over 80s and does not depend on National Insurance Contributions, meaning it is there to support some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“Yet research shows that over 100,000 people over 80 are still on zero pensions. This can’t be right.

“The Government needs to do much more to identify those who do not get any state pension, and to make sure that they receive the pension to which they are entitled.

“If you are concerned about this, contact the Pension Service to check you are receiving the correct basic state pension entitlement.”

Caption:

Finance expert Mike Jordan.