(1) Section 241(2) of the Principal Act is amended -

(a) in paragraph (a) (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010) by substituting "6 months" for "12 months", and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

"(2A) In the case of a claim for -

(a) State pension (transition) made before 5 April 2012, or

(b) State pension (contributory), widow's (con-tributory) pension, widower's (contributory) pension, surviving civil partner's (contributory) pension and guardian's payment (contributory) made before 6 April 2012,

subsection (2) (a) shall be read as if '12 months' were substituted for '6 months'.".

(2) This section comes into operation -

(a) in so far as it relates to State pension (transition), on 5 April 2012, and

(b) in so far as it relates to State pension (contributory), widow's (contributory) pension, widower's (contributory) pension, surviving civil partner's (contributory) pension and guardian's payment (contributory), on 6 April 2012.