State Pension deferral
State Pension deferral simply means putting off claiming your State Pension when you reach State Pension age, or choosing to stop claiming it after you have already claimed it. This allows you to build up extra income or a taxable lump-sum payment.
The State Pension age is set by law and is 60 for a woman born on or before 5 April 1950 and 65 for a man. You cannot get your State Pension before State Pension age, even if you retire from your employment before State Pension age. For women born on or after 6 April 1950, State Pension age will begin to increase from April 2010 so that by 2020, both men and women will have the same State Pension age of 65.
The state pension age for both men and women is to increase from 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046, with each change phased in over two consecutive years in each decade. The first increase, from 65 to 66, will be phased in between April 2024 and April 2026; the second, from 66 to 67, will be phased in between April 2034 and April 2036; and the third, from 67 to 68, between April 2044 and April 2046.
Find out your State Pension age with the State Pension age calculator