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Retirement Benefits
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are taken by his Department to advise those contemplating moving abroad for retirement or extended absence of the implications of the entitlement to retirement benefits. [71182]
Mr. McCartney: Individuals who are considering moving abroad are responsible for considering the financial impact of such a move. They can seek information and advice on the implications on entitlement to retirement benefits in a number of DWP publications.
Leaflet NP46 "Retirement Pensions" (which is widely available in Social Security Offices and Post Offices) advises pensioners of the effect of going abroad on their retirement pension.
Besides giving general information, it also advises people who are thinking of moving abroad to get leaflet GL29 "Going abroad and social security benefits" from their Social Security Office. In addition, the Department's International Pensions Centre provides oral and written advice to people who intend to move abroad.
Information is also available on the DWP website—www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to his Department would have been in each of the last five years of unfreezing state pension for those retired abroad in countries without a full reciprocal social security agreement. [71183]
Mr. McCartney: Due to data limitations, we are unable to provide meaningful estimates prior to 1999. However, such information as we can provide is set out in the table below
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| Year | Additional cost of paying pensions at an unfrozen rate (£ million) |
| 2000–01 | 280 |
| 2001–02 | 330 |
| 2002–03 | 370 |
Notes:
1. Costs are shown in cash terms, i.e. not adjusted for inflation.
2. Costs include all components of State Pensions.
3. Costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
4. To fully restore the state pension to what it would have been had it not been frozen will cost around £3 billion
Pension Service
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (1) pursuant to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Official Report, column 173W, on the Pension Service, whether the decision to carry out a home visit to a pensioner will be made by the pensioner; [72842]
- (2) in what circumstances a pensioner requesting a home visit through the Pension Service would be denied one. [68988]
Mr. McCartney: By bringing together pension-related services customers of The Pension Service will be given a dedicated service in a way that is convenient for them.
Many pensioners already deal with us over the phone—over two-thirds of Retirement Pension claims are made via the Pensions Direct telephone service—and this will increasingly be the case. So we are developing 26 modern centres using the most up-to-date equipment to deal with queries accurately and efficiently.
These centres will be backed up by local services delivered in partnership with organisations very used to dealing with pensioners' needs, provided in locations accessible to pensioners. The local service will employ twice as many people undertaking similar activity in the old Benefits Agency.
Where a pensioner requires a home visit we expect to be able to provide one. Pensioners will have that option—but in reality the vast majority of queries will be dealt with swiftly and effectively without the need for a home visit. Indeed a simple call to a Pension Centre is likely to be the most effective and satisfactory way of dealing with customers' inquiries without the delay of appointments.
This is a period of change but it is change to create a better service. As the Pension Service is rolled out in each area existing pensioners will receive letters explaining those changes fully and giving them all necessary contact details.
Pensioners deserve a decent modern service tailored to their needs; The Pension Service will deliver it.
Pickering Report
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the cost to the Treasury of the proposals in the Pickering report to end (a) the compulsory indexation of occupational pensions and (b) the compulsory provision of survivor spouses benefits. [72998]
Mr. McCartney: We are currently carrying out analysis of the proposals in the Pickering report and we will respond to them in our autumn Green Paper.
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Pensions Advice
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to ensure that trained staff are always available in Jobcentre Plus offices to deliver pensions advice in areas where there is no local pension service in place; and if he will make a statement. [67858]
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what opportunities there will be for pensioners to receive face-to-face advice on their particular case under the new Pensions Service and Jobcentre Plus schemes for (a) exceptional and (b) day-to-day cases. [72189]
Mr. McCartney [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently creating an entirely new service focused on the needs of today's and tomorrow's pensioners.
By bringing together pension-related services customers of The Pension Service will be given a dedicated service in a way that is convenient for them.
Many pensioners already deal with us over the phone—over two-thirds of Retirement Pension claims are made via the Pensions Direct telephone service—and this will increasingly be the case. So we are developing 26 modern centres using the most up-to-date equipment to deal with queries accurately and efficiently.
These centres will be backed up by local services delivered in partnership with organisations very used to dealing with pensioners' needs, provided in locations accessible to pensioners. The local service will employ twice as many people undertaking similar activity in the old Benefits Agency.
The Pension Service is committed to providing the best for our customers and training holds the key to that. We will provide technical training to ensure that staff can do their job well and enhance their competencies in areas such as customer service. They will focus entirely on the needs of pensioners, ensuring an expert service which we believe our customers will want to use.
We do recognise that there will be occasions when customers with a pension query might visit a Jobcentre Plus office in their community, particularly whilst the new arrangements are being introduced. Jobcentre Plus staff will deal with pensioners visiting such offices courteously and efficiently. They will ensure that the customers are given appropriate contact details for the Pension Service where there will be trained staff who will be able to deal effectively with their query.
In the meantime, our customers can continue to access our services via the existing social security network until the new local arrangements apply.
This is a period of change but it is change to create a better service. As the new Pension Service is rolled out in each area existing pensioners will receive letters explaining those changes fully and giving them all necessary contact details.
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Pensioners deserve a decent modern service tailored to their needs; The Pension Service will deliver it.
Pension Service Staff
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when Pension Service staff (a) based in local pension surgeries and (b) carrying out home visits will be able to access central Pension Service IT records; and what arrangements for accessing pensioner records and adding new details will be in place until then. [68987]
Mr. McCartney: It is planned that local service staff will be able to view a customer's details and record a narrative of ongoing action while on a home visit or conducting a surgery. We will bring in this functionality as soon as possible, but it will not be available for some time.
In the meantime local service staff will preview their cases at their base office where they will have access to the appropriate customer records.
They will not be able to input or amend any details of a customer's claim. The design intention has always been that all completed claim forms, information and verification details will be forwarded to the appropriate pension centre, which as "owner" of the claim, will be responsible for inputting information and amending existing records.
State Second Pension
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2002, Official Report, column 677W, how much he expects to spend promoting the state second pension during the current financial year. [69937]
Mr. McCartney: For details of the costs of this activity for the last financial year I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Vincent Cable).
An estimate of the final spend of the State Second Pension publicity activity for the financial year 2002–03 is not currently available as final decisions on the campaign have yet to be made.
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