Most pension savers are unaware that they can significantly boost their State Pension by delaying taking it, according to a new study.

DWP data suggests that only one in 10 adults aged 66-75 have delayed receiving the State Pension.

With the latest data estimating just under 13m State Pensioners, the figures suggest only 1.3m have delayed receiving their State Pension and 8.5m are unaware that they can delay their State Pension to boost income.

Analysis by retirement specialist Just Group of recent data from the Department for Work and Pensions found “very low awareness” of the option to defer the State Pension to receive a higher income later on.

People who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016 can get a 1% boost to their weekly State Pension for every nine weeks that payments are deferred. This boost equates to about 5.8% extra income for every full year deferred.

With the Triple Lock boosting the new State Pension to £230.25 a week this year, those who defer their payments for the 2025/26 financial year will benefit from an extra £13.35 a week – an additional £694.20 of income for every year for life (plus any inflation-linked increases) (see table below).

Two-thirds (66%) of those aged 40-65 said that they were not aware of the option to delay taking the State Pension beyond the State Pension age.

Of the 34% who did know they could delay, a third (33%) were unsure what the impact of deferring would be on their regular payments and an additional 8% thought they would receive the same amount or less.

When asked why they deferred the State Pension, the most popular options were either because people did not need financially to claim it as soon as they reached the State Pension age (49%) or because they were attracted to the higher income later (48%). A fifth (20%) also wanted to wait until they had stopped working before they claimed the State Pension. 

Source: DWP/Just Group (impact of one year's State Pension deferral shown)

Those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and chose to defer are treated more generously, with an extra 1% State Pension income for every five weeks deferred, equal to an annual rise of 10.4% or £954.20, which can be taken either as extra income or a lump sum.

According to data from the House of Commons Library, there were an estimated 12.95 million state pensioners in Great Britain in 2024/25. Around two thirds of these (8.57m pensioners) were claiming the pre-2016 State Pension, while 4.38m were new State Pension claimants.

Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just, said: “Deferring your State Pension is effectively a trade-off between receiving your full State Pension payments today or an increased State Pension later.

“Delaying the State Pension may not work for everybody but it’s certainly an option worth knowing about and exploring in more detail for those people who don’t need the money immediately.”

• DWP, Planning and Preparing for Later Life 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-and-preparing-for-later-life-2024

• Financial Planning Today Analysis: Deferring your State Pension to boost payments is not for everyone but it is an option many more could consider to increase their State Pension. It is clear that many millions are unaware of this option so more needs to be done to educate pension savers on a simple way which can boost their retirement income. The Just Group study and other recent studies suggest widespread ignorance of retirement options, particularly when it comes to income choices. Heading for retirement in the UK is fraught with difficult choices and complex decisions and that should not be the case. The Pensions Dashboards will help but more is need to help make the retirement journey smooth and uncomplicated, not a set of rapids to be negotiated.