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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1734W—continued
Pension Credit
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected expenditure on pension credit is
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for the present and succeeding three years on the presently announced uprating scheme, broken down by guarantee and savings components of pension credit. [204616]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the following table.
| Pension credit | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guarantee credit | 5,133 | 5,465 | 5,979 | 6,610 |
| Savings credit | 989 | 1,0991 | 1,203 | 1,348 |
| Total | 6,122 | 6,564 | 7,182 | 7,958 |
Notes:
1. Figures are based on the latest forecasts, published in the Pre Budget Report on 2 December 2004.
2. Benefit Expenditure Tables in relation to the Pre Budget Report are published on the internet at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp
3. Figures are rounded to the nearest million.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of existing pensioners he estimates will be eligible for pension credit at some point during the remainder of their lives. [206409]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available. Estimates of pension credit eligibility, based on 2002–03 Family Resources Survey data projected forward to 2004–05, are currently being revised consistent with pre-Budget report assumptions. The revised estimates will be available next year.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensionshow many (a) male and (b) female pensioners claiming pension credit have seen their weekly income rise by (i) £0 to £10, (ii) £10 to £20, (iii) £20 to £30, (iv) £30 to £40 and (v) £40 to £50. [206708]
Malcolm Wicks: At 31 October there were 1,969,985 households in Great Britain which had gained as a result of Pension Credit. In 1,309,425 cases the claimant was female and in 660,565 cases the claimant was male. The average weekly gain for these households was £16.91. It is not possible to provide more detailed information, in the form requested, about the amount by which households have gained.
2. Figures are available for 31 October 2004 as the final output of processes that were put in place to deliver special monthly reporting during the first year of the roll-out of Pension Credit. Data will in future be available on a quarterly basis, in line with standard departmental practice. The next report, covering data as at 31 December 2004, should available in January 2005.
4. Households gaining are defined as all those receiving the savings element of Pension Credit plus those receiving the guarantee element only who were not previously receiving MIG and whose 60th birthday was before 6 October 2003.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the distribution of (a) male and (b) female pensioners claiming pension credit is by age. [206709]
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Malcolm Wicks: The available information is given in the following table.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
2. Figures are available for 31 October 2004 as the final output of processes that were put in place to deliver special monthly reporting during the first year of the roll-out of Pension Credit. Data will in future be available on a quarterly basis, in line with standard departmental practice. The next report, covering data as at 31 December 2004, should be available in January 2005.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated average amount not being claimed by (a) male and (b) female pensioners not claiming pension credit but who are entitled to it is; and what the average figure is broken down by age. [206710]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the form requested. Latest estimates of the average amount of Minimum Income Guarantee unclaimed by male and female pensioners can be found in the Department's report "Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-Up in 2001–2002", which is available in the Library. Estimates for 2002–2003 are expected to be released in January. Estimates of take-up in 2003–2004 will cover the first six months of Pension Credit and are expected to be released in late 2005.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated number of (a) male and (b) female pensioners eligible to claim pension credit is; and what percentage of these are claiming. [206711]
Malcolm Wicks: Estimates of pension credit eligibility, based on 2002–03 Family Resources Survey data projected forward to 2004–05, are currently being revised consistent with pre-Budget report assumptions. The revised estimates will be available in January 2005. At 31 October, 1,073,170 men and 2,125,870 women in Great Britain were in receipt of pension credit, either as individuals or as part of a couple.
2. Figures are available for 31 October 2004 as the final output of processes that were put in place to deliver special monthly reporting during the first year of the roll-out of pension credit. Data will in future be available on a quarterly basis, in line with standard departmental practice. The next report, covering data as at 31 December 2004, should be available in January 2005.
Pension Protection Fund
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the public sector pension schemes which (a) will be expected to pay a levy towards the Pension Protection Fund and (b) will not be expected to pay the levy. [206628]
Malcolm Wicks: Broadly speaking the Pension Protection Fund will protect members of public sector defined benefit schemes and the defined benefit elements of hybrid schemes that are not covered by Crown Guarantee.
We currently do not have a list of schemes that will be paying the Pension Protection Fund levies. However, the types of schemes who will and will not be expected to pay the levies will be set out in regulations. We anticipate that schemes exempt from the Pension Protection Fund protection and levy payments will be similar to those currently exempt from the minimum funding requirement.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to ensure that, when the Pension Protection Fund begins in April 2005, it will retrospectively include pension funds which have failed since the passing of the Pensions Act 1977; and if he will make a statement. [206235]
Malcolm Wicks: In May the Government announced the introduction of the Financial Assistance Scheme. The FAS will offer help to people who have lost out on their defined benefit pension due to their pension scheme winding up underfunded as their employer has been unable to make up the deficit.
Schemes that commenced winding up from 1 January 1997 will potentially be eligible for the FAS, subject to the other entry rules. Schemes starting to wind up right through to the introduction of the Pension Protection Fund will also be potentially eligible.
The Pension Protection Fund compensation will apply to the future and will not be retrospective. To qualify for entry to the Pension Protection Fund a qualifying insolvency event must occur after the introduction of the Pension Protection Fund, and the scheme must not have commenced wind up before then.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to include within the Pension Protection Fund, pension funds which have been affected short of insolvency, with particular reference to those affected by compromise agreements; and if he will make a statement. [206236]
Malcolm Wicks:
The entry rules for the PPF are clear: an eligible scheme must not have commenced wind-up prior to the introduction of the PPF and their sponsoring employer must have a qualifying insolvency event after that date. In addition, if a scheme compromises their section 75 debt below the PPF level of compensation then the scheme will be ineligible for PPF assistance (unless the compromise was part of a scheme of arrangement or within a PPF assessment period).
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