Enormous State Pension payment

[dontcrowdthemushrooms]

I'm prepared to be vilified for this, but here goes. I've not long moved into a new flat and so am going through the tireless "return to sender" process for all the old post.

Recently, I accidentally opened something that wasn't addressed to me - it was a bank statement (same bank as me), so I glanced at the numbers before I realised my mistake. Well, I almost fainted - there was more than my yearly salary in this account. I grew up in a not-very-wealthy family - I've never seen numbers like that on a bank statement. I didn't know people had this much in their current accounts!

After sadly realising the statement wasn't mine, I couldn't help it so I looked a bit closer.
This person had received a "DWP SP" payment of more than £4k. I know very little about pensions (I'm a fair few years off yet!) but this seems like a huge amount for just one month - can anyone enlighten me on what this would translate to in terms of salary/NI contributions? Or any other reason someone would get such large pension payments?

I know I'm being hopelessly nosy, but I just need to know for my sanity!

(This person was not the last tenant in the flat, so must have been gone a fair while - I have since resumed normal service of sending back all their post!)

Depending on when they reached state pension age they could have deferred their state pension and received a lump sum when they started taking it. However I would expect this to be more than £4K as they would've had to reach state pension age in 2016 so the lump sum would be much bigger.

Although having said that if they reached state pension age after 6th April 2016 they could still defer their pension but instead receive it as 'extra pension' in the future which could be what has happened here (I'm not sure if £4K a month would be reasonable in this situation, it sounds a bit much to me but I'm not sure)

It doesn't mean state pension. It means special payment and would be a one off payment, not a monthly one. I'm not certain what it would be for but something like compensation for the DWP making a mistake. I imagine it could be something like refusing benefits when they should have paid them.

Yes that’s too much for one monthly payment.
I know my Dad deferred his state pension for a couple of years and then got a lump sum

@woodlandwalker

It doesn't mean state pension. It means special payment and would be a one off payment, not a monthly one. I'm not certain what it would be for but something like compensation for the DWP making a mistake. I imagine it could be something like refusing benefits when they should have paid them.

This makes sense as I was just thinking AFAIK that's not what state pension looks like on a bank statement.

My DH gets a state pension his payment is shown on his bank statement as dwp and then his NI number

Yes it’s a special payment so a one off. The maximum state pension weekly is about £175 a week at mo.

@CornishTiger

Yes it’s a special payment so a one off. The maximum state pension weekly is about £175 a week at mo.

Actually not true it very much depends on NI conts/credits paid in my DH gets a SP of £220 a week under the old rules (paid in for 45 years so got serps) I BELIEVE as I had paid in for 46 years before the new rules came in that I will get a protected payment but not a state pension in line with the (nearly) 51 years I will have paid in when I get mine in March as the last 5 years contributions will not count

Perhaps they applied late after they were eligible and its the backdated payment?

My dad did this and got two lump sum payments to bring him up to date.