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Pensions Reform
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his oral statement on pensions reform of 25 May 2006, Official Report, columns 1648-51, what estimate he has made of the difference in the number of people who would have gained a full basic state pension under the Turner proposals based on residency and the number based on his proposed reform of the contributory principle. [75157]
James Purnell [holding answer 5 June 2006]: The Government's White Paper on pension reform, “Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system”, published on 25 May, includes estimates of those achieving a full basic state pension under the Pensions Commission's residence accruals approach compared to our proposed reform of the contributory principle.
Estimates of the proportion of people reaching state pension age with full basic state pension under the current system, the Pension Commission's residence accruals approach, and our proposed reform are shown in Figure 3.vi of “Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system”, and in the following table.
| Table 1: Proportion of people reaching state pension age with full basic state pension under different schemes | |||
| Percentage | |||
| Current system without reform | Residence accruals from 2010 | 30 qualifying years for new retirees from 2010 | |
| Notes: 1. Based on projections from the Government Actuary’s Department’s Retirement Model, GB. 2. Estimates are approximate and reflect the inevitable uncertainty associated with any future projection. Figures shown have therefore been rounded to the nearest 5 percentage points. 3. Under residence accruals, 44 years are required for a full basic state pension. 4. Women’s entitlement is based on their own and their husband’s contributions, i.e. includes entitlement using the inheritance and substitution rules for widows and divorced women. | |||
Statistical Returns
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what statistical returns and reports were rendered by local employment offices during the period January to June 2006; how many civil servants were involved in (a) collating, (b) processing and (c) publishing the statistics; and what the estimated total cost was. [83805]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Winter Fuel Payment
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of extending eligibility for the £200 winter fuel payment to those non-pensioner households who qualify for cold weather payments. [82910]
James Purnell: We estimate the cost of extending winter fuel payments to non-pensioner households that are eligible for a cold weather payment would be £300 million in 2005-06.
Notes:
1. Estimates based on DWP benefit data and rounded to the nearest £50 million.
2. Actual receipt of a cold weather payment depends on local temperatures as well as meeting qualification conditions. Here it is assumed that all eligible cases would receive a payment of £200.
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