PAYE76030 - PAYE operation: pensioners: DWP uprating service of state pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Uprating Service provides a magnetic tape which is run against the COP database and enables National Insurance Benefit (NIB) deductions to be automatically revised at Annual Coding.

It is, therefore, important to bring taxpayers into the Uprating Service when you

• Examine SA returns and NIB is included in a COP source of income
• Deal with forms P161 and P46(DWP)or other information telling you about new pensions and benefits

The DWP Uprating Service tells offices of

• New awards of certain state retirement pensions and bereavement benefits, using form P46(DWP)

And

• The annual uprated pension awards for all pensioners included in the service

Amount by which record updated

State pensions are normally increased from the first Monday in the tax year. The DWP make payments of state pensions on fixed days of the week, most pensioners are paid on Mondays but depending on their circumstances payment can be made on Tuesday or Thursday. Where the 6 April does not fall on a Monday then most pensioners will only receive the new rate of state pension for 51 weeks, the Uprating Service will use the calculations below to calculate the annual amount to be included in the code number.

The Uprating Service calculates the coding deduction at 1 week at the old rate and 51 weeks at the new rate in years when 6 April falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

In years when 6 April falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, the Uprating Service calculates the coding deduction at 52 times the new rate.

The Uprating Service provides a weekly snapshot of an individual’s state pension for the current year. The NIB uprating process in January then converts this to an annual amount and applies the annual percentage increase to arrive at a figure for CY+1. You should be aware that there may be some instances where the amounts notified by the DWP are not representative of the true annual figure. Where a pensioner notifies you of a different figure, code the amounts advised by the pensioner.