Checklist for people nearing State Pension age this year to ensure a smooth move into retirement

State Pension is a contributions-based benefit that provides essential financial support for 12.6million older people across Great Britain, including more than one million living in Scotland. Of that overall total, more than 1.4million people are also receiving additional support through Attendance Allowance.

This year's NTAs, the National Television Awards, were packed with unseen bits and unexpected moments, with some dramatic twists along the way. Holly Willoughby reflected on her "difficult year" on the red carpet, Piers Morgan got booed by the audience and the entire room was in tears when the late presenter Paul O'Grady won for his factual series For the Love of Dogs.There was also a particularly poignant moment when EastEnders actor and son of the late Jade Goody, Bobby Brazier won the award for rising star.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared new plans to improve disability health assessments for people with fluctuating conditions. The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Tom Pursglove MP, told the House of Commons on Monday that through the ‘Health and Disability White Paper’, “we have advocated for a number of tests and trials, including one that focuses specifically on better capturing fluctuating conditions”.

Millions of households across Great Britain are set to receive the next instalment of the £900 cost of living payment support, worth £300 this Autumn, with a further £299 due next Spring. No confirmed details about a payment window or the qualifying period have been announced by the UK Government yet, despite widespread online speculation.

More than 34,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the State Pension to be paid to everyone in retirement at the same rate as the National Living Wage, despite an official response rejecting the proposal. According to map data on the petitions-parliament website, 34,062 signatures have now been recorded from every parliamentary constituency across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Government recently announced that a new devolved disability payment designed to provide additional financial support for people of State Pension age will not include a mobility component. However, it has also confirmed that the new benefit will not involve any face-to-face assessments as part of the application process.

The SNP’s Patricia Gibson has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament for MPs to debate the “devastating impact of continuing unfair pension treatment of 1950s-born WASPI women (Women Against State Pension Inequality). The North Ayrshire and Arran MP is also urging the UK Government to “respond promptly” to the findings from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) report into the way the changes to the State Pension age were communicated.

Loch Ness Monster hunters braving horrific weekend weather heard “four distinctive noises”. Around 200 volunteers took part in the biggest search for the mythical creature in 50 years.

There are 22 million people across the UK claiming at least one benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). That number includes 12.6 million older people in receipt of State Pension payments, a contributory benefit only available to those of retirement age with at least 10 years’ worth of National Insurance Contributions.

Leonardo DiCaprio appeared to enjoy another date day in Santa Barbara, California earlier this week.

Newly updated figures show that during the ongoing cost of living crisis, people in the UK claiming their State Pension entitlement only just break even despite a record-breaking increase to weekly payment rates in April. The research, conducted by pension advisors Almond Financial, looked at the State Pension in comparison to the average cost of living in the UK.

Nicola Sturgeon has had her £600,000-a-year police security removed, according to reports.

The cost of living crisis continues to squeeze millions of household budgets this year, despite the lower energy price cap and inflation finally starting to drop. The UK Government’s cost of living payments have already provided lump sums of £301 for families on means-tested benefits and £150 for those claiming disability benefits.

An estimated 188,000 people in Scotland are affected by some form of sight loss with that figure expected to double by 2031, according to the charity, Sight Scotland, formerly known as Royal Blind. Three out of four people with a visual impairment are aged over 65, with around 8,000 adults of working age registered blind or partially sighted.

Pension experts are urging older people to check the interest rate they currently have on their savings accounts after new research indicates that at least half of retirees could be missing out on hundreds of pounds each year. Pension Bee warns those missing out most are people with an interest rate of three per cent or less.

The Triple Lock will determine the level of uprating to be applied to the State Pension for the 2024/25 financial year and pays the highest between September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate, earnings growth, or 2.5 per cent. The frontrunner for the uprating is currently earnings growth, which came in at 7.8 per cent (excluding employee bonuses) for the period between April and June.

The last bank holiday of the summer falls on Monday, August 28 for people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, it will also affect people in Scotland expecting payments on that date from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). No changes to payments due from Social Security Scotland have been announced and are expected to be made as planned.

New statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show there are now 12.6 million people across Great Britain receiving State Pension payments of up to £203.85 each week. Basic and New State Pensions are contributory benefits which provide crucial financial support to those who have paid at least 10 years’ worth of National Insurance contributions.

Sue and Noel Radford have jetted abroad with their kids for their 18th holiday in 20 months.

Aa a teenager with a huge sense of adventure, desperate to step into adulthood and experience true independence, I started adventuring by rail.