State pensioners born after 1951 can add up to £727.48 extra per year to their pension pot thanks to a little-known tip, but it means delaying claiming your State Pension by a whole year. You can start claiming your State Pension from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) once you reach State Pension age, which is currently in the process of rising to age 67 in phases over a two year period which started on April 6. The Pension Service will send an invitation letter to you around four months before you are due to reach State Pension age, at which point you can choose to either claim it or defer it.

If you opt to claim it you’ll start receiving payments once you hit State Pension age, but if you opt to defer, your State Pension payments will automatically be delayed until you decide to start claiming. By choosing the latter option, this allows you to add some extra cash to your pension pot in the form of a increased weekly payments worth up to £727.48 if you delay for a whole year.

You reach State Pension age on or after April 6, 2016, if you’re a man born on or after April 6, 1951, or a woman born on or after April 6, 1953, at which point you can decide to defer claiming your payments.

You can choose to get the State Pension you’ve deferred as either a one-off arrears payment of up to 52 weeks (12 months), increased regular payments (known as ‘extra State Pension’), or a combination of both.

Opting for increased regular payments will give you extra money on top of your regular State Pension amount, but you must defer claiming your State Pension for at lease nine weeks before you can claim these increased amounts.

The DWP says for every nine weeks you defer, you will get 1% added to your regular weekly pension payment for life, which works out as just under 5.8% for every year you defer.

So at the current full new State Pension rate of £241.30 per week, you’ll get an extra £13.99 per week if you defer for 12 months. This amounts to £727.48 extra in State Pension payments over a full year.

The DWP said: “You can get your deferred pension as an extra payment on top of your regular payment. You must defer claiming your State Pension for at least 9 weeks before you can claim increased regular payments.

“For every 9 weeks you defer, you’ll get 1% added to your regular weekly pension payment for life. This works out as just under 5.8% for every 52 weeks (12 months) you defer.

“Example: You get £241.30 a week (the full new State Pension). If you defer for 52 weeks, you’ll get an extra £13.99 a week (5.8% of £241.30). If you defer for 104 weeks (2 years), you’ll get an extra £27.99 a week (11.6% of £241.30).”

Alternatively, if you opt for a one-off arrears payment, deferring your full new State Pension for 52 weeks will give you a lump sum of £12,547.60, but you won’t get any interest added to this.

Deferring your State Pension may give you increased regular payments once you start claiming, but it isn’t without its risks as it will take more than 15 years to get back 52 weeks of deferred full new State Pension, according to the DWP, and this time increases by around one year for each additional 52 weeks you defer claiming.

It means losing your pension income in the year you deferred it, but you would get an extra 1% added to your regular weeklu pension payment for life for every nine weeks you defer.

So over time, what you lose in a year of deferral could eventually be gained back long-term if you live long enough. And if you’re still working, deferral can be a good option as it means you don’t lose any of your state pension during work to tax, which means you don’t have to wait as long to make the money back.

Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis previously explained: “Defer your state pension, and the maths works out that if you live longer than typical life expectancy, you’ll gain; if you live less, you’ll lose. Live a typical lifespan and it’ll be pretty neutral.

“So if you’re in poor health, it’s not really worth considering. If you’re in great health with a history of family longevity, deferring could be a winner.

“Otherwise the real issue is tax – if you’re earning or have a decent income now, but’ll pay tax at a lower rate later on, then deferring can be very worthwhile.”