How do I change my name on my State Pension?#
By phone or by post. GOV.UK's page on reporting changes says that if you get the State Pension or the over 80 pension, you must report certain changes to the Pension Service, and it gives the same three routes for all of them: a phone call, a letter, or, for some changes, an online service. The phone lines, including a Welsh-language line and Relay UK, are listed on GOV.UK's contact page. The postal address is:
The Pension Service, Post Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1AF
GOV.UK's list of what you must report includes marrying or forming a civil partnership, a divorce or dissolution, being widowed, and a change of bank details. A change of name is not on that list in those words, although it often comes with a marriage or a divorce. The Pension Credit list that the same page links to does include changing your name, and so does nidirect's list for Northern Ireland, so report it whatever the reason for the change, and letters and payments will carry the name you now use.
If you write, include your National Insurance number, your old and new names, the date of the change and your address. What to put in a change of name letter goes through the rest.
Can I change my State Pension details online?#
Some of them, but not your name. GOV.UK's Manage your State Pension service, which you sign in to with GOV.UK One Login, lists what it can do. It says you can use it to tell the Pension Service you have changed your address, and that if you were born after 1955 you may also be able to change how often you are paid, where your letters go, and your phone number and email address. A name is not on either list, and the service sends you to the Pension Service, by phone or by post, for other changes.
What will the Pension Service ask to see?#
GOV.UK does not publish a list of documents for a change of name, and it gives no timescale for the change. Keep your deed poll, or the marriage or civil partnership certificate, to hand when you phone, in case you are asked about it, and send only what you are asked for. If the Pension Service asks for a document by post, ask whether a certified copy will do: HM Passport Office and DVLA both want the original deed poll, and what is a certified copy? explains the difference.
Your National Insurance number and payment day stay the same#
A new name does not bring a new number. GOV.UK says your National Insurance number remains the same for life, and that your State Pension amount depends on your National Insurance record, so the record your pension is worked out from carries on unchanged under the new name.
Your payment day follows the number too. GOV.UK says the State Pension is usually paid every 4 weeks, and that the day of the week depends on the last two digits of your National Insurance number, from Monday for 00 to 19 through to Friday for 80 to 99. The name changes; the day does not.
The bank account your pension is paid into#
Changing the name on your bank account is a job for the bank, and the Pension Service still needs telling about your new name separately. Moving the pension to a different account at the same time is a change of bank details, which is on GOV.UK's list of changes you must report.
Most banks accept a deed poll, but four of the biggest have a rule to plan around: Lloyds, Halifax and Santander accept an unenrolled deed poll only with a passport or driving licence in the new name, and Barclays wants photo ID in the new name for a new first name. Changing your name with your bank compares them.
If you get Pension Credit#
Pension Credit has its own list of changes to report, and GOV.UK names changing your name and switching your bank account on it. It says your claim might be stopped or reduced if you do not report a change straight away, and that you may have to repay money if you were overpaid because a change was reported late. Report it through the Pension Service helpline, or by post to the address on the letters you get about your Pension Credit. GOV.UK's Pension Credit guide covers England, Scotland and Wales; for Northern Ireland it sends you to nidirect.
If you live in Northern Ireland#
Tell the Northern Ireland Pension Centre instead. nidirect lists your name among the personal details to report, alongside your bank details, address and marital status, and says to telephone the Pension Centre, which will make the changes. It adds that some changes can be reported online through the Manage your State Pension service once you have registered and verified your identity. Changing your name in Northern Ireland covers the other bodies there.
If you live abroad#
Contact the International Pension Centre, not the Pension Service. GOV.UK's guide for pensioners abroad says to report changes to it by phone or in writing, and not by email. The postal address on GOV.UK is The Pension Service 11, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LW, United Kingdom.
Who else to tell#
GOV.UK counts the State Pension among the taxable benefits you tell HMRC about when you start or stop getting them, and HMRC keeps its own record of your name: changing your name with HMRC is done online. Other benefits have their own helplines: GOV.UK tells Attendance Allowance claimants to contact its helpline straight away if they change their name, changing your name with DWP covers Universal Credit, and changing your name on PIP covers PIP and Adult Disability Payment. Any workplace or personal pension is changed with the scheme itself: pensions, savings and investments lists how each one works.
Questions people ask
Do I need to update my State Pension when I change my name on marriage?
Yes. Marrying or forming a civil partnership is on GOV.UK's list of changes you must report if you get the State Pension, and so is a divorce or dissolution. Tell the Pension Service once, giving both the marriage and the new name. Changing your name after marriage covers everyone else to tell.
How do I change the account my State Pension is paid into?
Tell the Pension Service, by phone or by post. GOV.UK says the State Pension is usually paid every 4 weeks into an account of your choice, and that to change the account you tell the Pension Service. The online Manage your State Pension service does not list bank details among the things it changes.
Does telling HMRC update my State Pension?
GOV.UK does not say so. Its HMRC page says HMRC passes a change to DWP when you change gender legally with a Gender Recognition Certificate; for any other change of name it says nothing about DWP, so tell HMRC and the Pension Service separately.
Can someone else tell the Pension Service for me?
Yes. GOV.UK says that if you are reporting a change on someone else's behalf, you can use its alternative enquiry service. If DWP has made someone your appointee, because you cannot manage your own affairs, GOV.UK says it is the appointee's job to tell the benefit office about changes.
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