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15 Sept 2004 : Column 1618W—continued

Housing and Council Tax Benefits

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many housing and council tax benefit claimants there were in (a) each local authority and (b) total in 2002–03. [189121]

Mr. Pond: The average number of housing benefit claimants during 2002–03 was 3,804,900; the average number of council tax benefit claimants was 4,590,900. The information for each local authority has been placed in the Library.

Pension Protection Fund

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of compensation he expects the Pension Protection Fund to provide to pensioners losing all or part of their occupational pensions when the scheme comes into existence. [188326]

Malcolm Wicks: When the Pension Protection Fund is introduced in April 2005, the level of compensation provided to members of eligible defined benefit schemes and defined benefit elements of eligible hybrid schemes will be as follows:

100 per cent. level of compensation subject to PPF Rules to those above the scheme's Normal Pension Age (NPA) immediately before the assessment date (the first day of the assessment period), and to those below NPA who are either in receipt of survivors' benefit or already in receipt of their pension on the grounds of ill health immediately before the assessment date.

90 per cent. level of compensation subject to PPF Rules to those below NPA immediately before the assessment date, subject to an overall compensation cap.

This is subject to Royal Assent being granted to the Pensions Bill.

Further details of the PPF compensation provisions can be found in Schedule 7 of the draft Bill.

Pensions

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2004, Official Report, column 729W, on pensions, what a pensioner's income from the State Pension was in each year in (a) cash and (b) real terms, broken down by the components identified in footnote 3. [186768]

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the tables.

The maximum rate of basic State Pension plus the average amount of additional State Pension in payment for recently retired men aged 65 and women aged 60 in:
(a) Cash terms

£
	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
BSP Maximum Rate	61.15	62.45	64.70	66.75	67.50	72.50
Average additional State Pension	14.80	15.70	13.35	14.65	14.15	15.25

 
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(b) Real terms (2004–05 prices)

£
	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
BSP Maximum Rate	74.75	74.50	74.20	75.35	74.00	78.10
Average additional State Pension	18.10	18.70	15.30	16.55	15.50	16.40

Notes:
1. Average additional State Pension figures are derived from a 5 per cent. sample of DWP administrative data taken at March in each year.
2. State Pension is calculated as the maximum rate of basic State Pension plus the average amount of additional State Pension in payment for recently retired men aged 65 and women aged 60. Weekly rates are shown.
3. The real value of Retirement Pension is calculated by uprating the cash value in April of each year to April 2004 prices. In each year the April increase in basic State Pension is related to the increase in the Retail Price Index in the year to the previous September. In most years the increase in the Retail Price Index in the year to April is not exactly the same as the increase in the year to the previous September. Measuring the real value of BSP in April inevitably appears to show some small reductions or increases that would not appear if the new level of basic State Pension were introduced in September. These small variations do not affect pensioner living standards as any differences in inflation are automatically reflected in the following year's uprating.

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the sum required to produce an annuity of the same size as the minimum income guarantee/pension guarantee credit for pensioners with pension inflation protection in each year of the MIG pension guarantee credit scheme. [188810]

 
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Malcolm Wicks: Table 1 estimates the amount that would be required to produce an inflation-protected annuity equal to the standard MIG/guarantee credit for a single person.

Table 2 estimates the amount that would be required to close the gap between a full basic state pension and the standard MIG/guarantee credit.
Table 1: The amount required to ensure an RPI escalating annuity income equal to the MIG/PC guarantee at the point of retirement

	Guarantee (£)	RPI escalating annuity rate (percentage)	Amount required to produce an income equal to the guarantee (£)
1999	82.25	6.94	62,000
2000	86.05	6.83	65,000
2001	92.15	6.54	73,000
2002	98.15	6.03	85,000
2003	102.10	5.45	97,000
2004	105.45	5.23	105,000

Notes:
1. The guarantee rate is for a single person, entitled to the highest age premium in the years before the age related premia were equalised.
2. The RPI escalating annuity rate has been provided by the Annuity Bureau for a single male aged 65; it is the top rate in December of each year (except 2004 where the top rate at September has been used) for a £100,000 sum.
3. The amount required has been rounded to the nearest £1,000.





Table 2: The amount required to purchase an RPI escalating annuity sufficient to close the gap between a full basic state pension and the MIG/PC guarantee at the point of retirement

	Guarantee (£)	Full BSP (£)	Amount guarantee exceeds BSP (£)	RPI escalating annuity rate (percentage)	Amount required to produce an income equal to the gap between the guarantee and a full BSP (£)
1999	82.25	66.75	15.50	6.94	12,000
2000	86.05	67.50	18.55	6.83	14,000
2001	92.15	72.50	19.65	6.54	16,000
2002	98.15	75.50	22.65	6.03	20,000
2003	102.10	77.45	24.65	5.45	24,000
2004	105.45	79.60	25.85	5.23	26,000

Notes:
1. The guarantee rate is for a single person, entitled to the highest age premium in the years before the age related premia were equalised.
2. The BSP is the maximum single person rate.
3. The RPI escalating annuity rate has been provided by the Annuity Bureau for a single male aged 65; it is the top rate in December of each year (except 2004 where the top rate at September has been used) for a £100,000 pot.
4. The amount required has been rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Pensions (Capita Forecasts)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the delay in the announcement of pension forecasts by Capita. [189086]

Malcolm Wicks: We are not aware of any delays in relation to the issue of pension forecasts by Capita.

If a member of a pension scheme is concerned that they have not received all the information they are expecting, they should contact the scheme in the first instance.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints the Department has received concerning the late announcement of pension forecasts by Capita. [189087]

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has not received any complaints concerning the late announcement of pension forecasts by Capita.
 
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Retirement Age

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research has been commissioned by his Department on the effects on the health of men over 65 years in the 10 most deprived local authorities in the United Kingdom of raising the retirement age to 70 years. [189108]

Malcolm Wicks: There is no such thing as a state retirement age; many employers choose to set a retirement age for their employees typically at 60 or 65. The Government are currently consulting with key stakeholders on the future of retirement age in light of the 2006 age legislation, and will consider the effects of their final decision on individuals and employers.

The state pension age, the age at which an individual may receive their state pension is currently 65 for men and 60 for women. As announced in the 2002 Pensions Green Paper "Simplicity Security and Choice: Working and saving for retirement", the Government have no plans to increase the state pension age beyond 65. Our aim is to provide the choice and opportunity for all individuals to work longer if they wish and to retire at a point that best suits their circumstances. A number of new measures to support this approach were introduced in the 2002 Pensions Green Paper.

As we are not planning to increase state pension age beyond 65 we have not conducted nor commissioned the specific research raised in the question. However, DWP research report 182 "Working after State Pension Age: Quantitative Analysis" finds that those choosing to work beyond state pension age are much more likely than those not working to report excellent or very good health status. The findings from this report also indicate that those remaining in work beyond state pension age were as least as likely to maintain good health status as all other groups, and found some limited evidence that work could lead to improvements in health status. A copy of the report is available in the Library.

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