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Pension Credit
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of eligible claimants there will be for the savings credit component of the pension credit in (a) St. Helens, South, (b) St. Helens MBC area, (c) Merseyside, (d) the north-west and (e) England. [44716]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 21 March 2002]: Around half of all pensioner households in Great Britain will be eligible for pension credit in 2003–04. Of these, about 80 per cent. will be eligible for the savings credit. Remaining information is not available.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to which benefits administered by his Department he proposes that the payment of pension credit should be a passport. [44708]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: We propose that recipients of pension credit should be entitled to the same DWP benefits administered by the Department as recipients of income support.
Pensions
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the numbers of contributors to (a) defined benefit occupational pension schemes, (b) defined contribution occupational pension schemes in (i) 1992, (ii) 1997 and (iii) the most recent year for which figures are available. [40195]
Mr. McCartney: The information requested is not available. The available information is given in the table.
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| 1991 | 1995 | |
|---|---|---|
| Defined benefit | 9,800 | 9,200 |
| Defined contribution | 900 | 1,100 |
| Total | 10,700 | 10,300 |
Notes:
1. The GAD survey does not separate public sector schemes into defined benefit and defined contribution. It has been assumed that all public sector scheme members are in defined benefit schemes but the figures given for defined benefit will include a small number of public sector workers who are members of defined contribution schemes.
2. 1995 is the latest year for which information is available. The next GAD survey of occupational pension schemes covering the position in 2000 is due for publication later this year.
Source:
'Occupational Pension Schemes' Surveys by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) 1991, 1995.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will consult on the introduction of compulsory pensions. [41730]
Mr. McCartney: Any employee earning over the primary threshold is making compulsory contributions to their pensions through national insurance.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the basis is of the attribution of income to a private pension pot before annuitisation for the assessment of income support on the minimum income guarantee; and how many claimants of each benefit were subject to such an attribution. [37032]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The income from an annuity purchased from a pension fund is taken fully into account for MIG purposes.
If a person over 60 has not taken an annuity he is treated as having a notional income of the amount he could have obtained if he had used his pension fund to buy an annuity. A similar approach is intended for pension credit.
Information regarding the number of claimants subject to such an attribution is not available.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out the circumstances under which SERPS entitlement can be offset against entitlement to a guaranteed minimum pension. [46435]
Maria Eagle: There are no circumstances under which SERPS entitlement can be offset against an individual's guaranteed minimum pension but the guaranteed minimum pension is offset against an individual's SERPS entitlement.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on how his policies for pensions will affect women. [45907]
Maria Eagle: We are committed to ensuring that our pension reforms significantly improve women's pension rights.
In April 2001 we introduced simple, low charge, flexible stakeholder pensions which are not restricted to those who are working. Women who wish to save towards
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a decent income in retirement can now do so and benefit from tax relief on the contributions paid into a stakeholder pension.
Stakeholder pensions can be moved between providers without charge. This is beneficial to those women in the modern labour market who move regularly between employers and occupations and who at different times, may be self employed, employed on a limited term contract or on a permanent contract.
The flexibility of stakeholder pensions means that they are a good option for women who take a break from work, for example to raise a family, as contributions can be started and stopped without penalty. As stakeholder pensions are open to non-earners those women who are not employed but can afford to save something towards their retirement can now do so. Stakeholder pension rules also allow family or friends to contribute towards someone else's pension, which may help the large number of women who are carers.
From April 2002, state second pension will boost the pensions of low and moderately paid employees and, for the first time, will provide additional pension for carers and some long-term disabled people. It will be of particular benefit to women, many of whom work part-time or as carers.
Some 2 million carers, at least 1.5 million of whom are women, will begin to build up entitlement to additional pension for the first time under state second pension. Just over 4.5 million low earners, 70 per cent. of whom are women, and 9.5 million moderate earners will gain under state second pension.
The minimum income guarantee for low-income pensioners, most of whom are women, allows people to have £12,000 savings and still qualify for extra support. From April 2002, minimum income guarantee will rise to £98.15 for single pensioners and £149.80 for couples. Currently, over 1.1 million women are in receipt of the minimum income guarantee.
From 2003, the new pension credit will benefit lower income pensioners. Two thirds of people receiving pension credit will be women, half of whom will be aged 80 or over. By April 2003, as a result of the pension credit no single pensioner will have to live on less than £100 a week (£154 for couples).
Winter fuel payments, at £200 for each eligible household, aim to ensure that no older person is fearful of turning up the heating in cold weather. Last winter (2000–01), over 11 million people aged 60 or over in around 8.5 million households received a payment; around 6.3 million of these recipients were women. In addition those aged 75 and over, the majority of whom are women, have been eligible for a free TV licence since February last year.
Under pension sharing legislation, couples whose divorces commenced on or after 1 December 2000 are able to apply to the courts to share the capitalised value of any pension rights held by either or both of them, a measure which benefits many women.
The Government recognise the importance of providing people with sound information on which types of pension provision best suit their individual need and circumstances. We will ensure that clear and
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understandable guidance is available to assist people in planning for their pension provision. So far, we have produced a series of leaflets to inform the public of the pension options open to them. One of these, "Pensions for Women", outlines the pension options available specifically for women.
State Pension
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost in a financial year of increasing the state retirement pension for (a) single pensioners by (i) £5 for those aged up to 74 years, (ii) £10 for those aged 75 to 79 years, (iii) £15 for those aged 80 years and over and (b) for married pensioner couples by (i) £8 for those aged up to 74 years, (ii) £18 for those aged 75 to 79 years, and (iii) £28 for those aged 80 years and over per week. [45620]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 25 March 2002]:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table:
| Additional costs in 2002–03 £ | |
|---|---|
| Up to 74 years | 420 million |
| 75–79 years | 540 million |
| 80 years and over | 1.33 billion |
| Total cost | 2.29 billion |
Notes:
1. Costs are in cash terms, rounded to the nearest £10 million, based on September 2001 GB administrative data.
2. Costs relate to recipients of category A, AB and B pensions only.
3. Figures represent the additional cost of introducing the principle set out in part (a) of the question rather than the stated increase in the basic state pension in 2002–03.
4. The costs are gross.
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