Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to seek formal agreement to participate in the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Guy Opperman
We are committed to ensuring that all important functions currently carried out by public bodies at an EU level can be carried out at a UK level in time for exit day. Whether the UK will wish to seek agreement to continue as an EIOPA member once we leave the European Union will depend on the outcome of the broader negotiations about the UK’s trade in financial services.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been helped to (a) remain in and (b) return to work by the Fuller Working Lives initiative in (i) the UK, (ii) Wales and (iii) Aberavon.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The data requested is not held, however the number of older workers in the UK is at a record high, currently there are 10 million workers aged 50 years and over. 8.8 million individuals aged 50-64 are in employment; an increase of over 1 million people compared to five years ago. There are 1.2 million individuals in employment aged 65 and over.
Employment rates for older workers have also been increasing and have recently reached record highs. In the past ten years, the employment rate for people aged 50-64 has increased by 6.2 percentage points (from 64.9% in 2007 to 71.1% in 2017). The employment rate for individuals aged 65 and over has almost doubled to 10.1% now, from 5.1% twenty years ago.
Further information on estimates of employment, unemployment, economic inactivity and other employment-related statistics for the UK can be found in the “UK labour market: October 2017” statistical bulletin published at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website:
Further information on labour market statistics for separate UK countries, as well as local areas, can be found at the NOMIS website:
The Government is committed to supporting people aged 50 years and over to remain in and return to work; the ‘Fuller Working Lives: A Partnership Approach’ strategy was published on 2nd February. This, crucially, is led by employers, but it also sets out the case for action by individuals, and the role of Government in supporting them in planning their careers and their approach to retirement. The Strategy and supporting evidence base are available at the attached web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuller-working-lives-a-partnership-approach
Analysis on the headline measures that the government uses to monitor progress on Fuller Working Lives can be found in this statistical release:
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides on (a) how to request a state pension forecast and (b) the process for claiming a state pension.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Customers can request an estimate of their State Pension, which is known as a State Pension Statement, from The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) up to four months prior to reaching State Pension age by: -
Customers can claim their State Pension from DWP when they are within four months of reaching State Pension age by: -
Customers may be asked to provide documentary verification to support their State Pension claim, depending on the information held by DWP for each respective customer.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women born in the 1950s and affected by the changes in state pension age (a) are entitled to the full state pension, (b) do not have the required number of qualifying years for a full state pension and (c) were contracted out.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The State Pension age changes in the 1995 Pensions Act affect all women born on or after 6th April 1950. The 2011 Pensions Act affects women born between 6th April 1953 and 5th April 1960. The figures in the tables below refer to those women born between 6th April 1950 and 5th April 1960 inclusive who have claimed their State Pension.
Table 1: Numbers of women receiving the full-rate, or less than the full-rate, of basic or new State Pension
Table 1 | Total | Receiving Full Rate | Receiving less than Full Rate |
Basic State Pension | 1,029,600 | 796,900 | 232,700 |
new State Pension | 26,800 | 5,500 | 21,300 |
Total | 1,056,400 | 802,400 | 254,000 |
Note 1: The new State Pension came in for people reaching State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016.
Note 2: The figures above refer to those people receiving the relevant full-rates without considering entitlements to any additional payments e.g. for Additional Pension or Protected Payments.
Those women who are in receipt of the full-rate of State Pension will have at least the number of qualifying years necessary for a full basic or new State Pension. Those receiving less than the full-rate of basic State Pension will not have the required number of qualifying years. Data is not available on the number of qualifying years for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016, when the new State Pension system began.
Table 2: Numbers of women with and without contracted-out status
Table 2 | Basic State Pension |
Ever been contracted-out | 477,800 |
Never been contracted-out | 551,800 |
Total | 1,029,600 |
Source: DWP Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, September 2016
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
Note 3: Data is not available for contracted-out status for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016, when the new State Pension system began.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve guidance on how people can access information on their contributory years to the state pension in order to plan effectively for retirement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Our early user research identified that people need to understand the link between their National Insurance contribution record and the State Pension this may give them. This is why we introduced the online Check your State Pension service in February 2016. This service provides a State Pension forecast, the earliest date the user can get their State Pension, and whether they can improve their forecast. The service also allows them to look at their National Insurance record online. Since its introduction, 5.6 million State Pension forecasts have been viewed online.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet the hon. Member for Aberavon and a delegation from Aberavon WASPI women to discuss changes to the state pension age for women born in the 1950s.
Answered by Guy Opperman
There are no plans to meet with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.
This matter has been comprehensively debated on many occasions in Parliament. The Government will not be making changes to its policy on state pension age for women born in the 1950s.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the usefulness of the PIP2 form in collecting information about a claimant's conditions.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The PIP2 questionnaire was designed to allow claimants to tell us, in their own words, how their health condition or disability impacts them on a day-to-day basis. The questionnaire has a mixture of tick boxes and free text boxes allowing claimants to add as much or as little detail as they wish.
Recent research[1] carried out by Ipsos MORI found that 85 per cent of claimants were able to complete all sections of the questionnaire and only four per cent were unable to do so. The research also shows that 63 per cent of claimants found completing the questionnaire as easy or easier than expected.
However, we constantly look to review and improve the experience of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP). We are currently considering the recommendations made in the second independent review of Personal Independence Payment (published on 30 March 2017) which included recommendations to improve our communications for claimants. We plan to respond to the review’s findings later this year.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has undertaken a costings exercise on introducing an assessment rate for personal independence payments claimants during the appeals process.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No assessment or costings exercise has been made in relation to introducing an assessment rate for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) during the appeal process. As for other decisions in law, a PIP decision persists until such time as an appeal against the decision is concluded. As PIP can be paid at one of eight different rates this means that those appealing against a successful award continue to be paid the level of PIP awarded by the Secretary of State during the appeal process.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an assessment rate for personal independence payments during the appeals process.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No assessment or costings exercise has been made in relation to introducing an assessment rate for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) during the appeal process. As for other decisions in law, a PIP decision persists until such time as an appeal against the decision is concluded. As PIP can be paid at one of eight different rates this means that those appealing against a successful award continue to be paid the level of PIP awarded by the Secretary of State during the appeal process.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has any plans to review the personal independence payments assessment criteria.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
There are no current plans to review the Personal Independence Payment assessment criteria.