Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason contributors to SERPS have not been given full transitional protection in the changeover to the new state pension; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
No one who qualifies for the new State Pension will receive less than they would have done under the previous system, based on their National Insurance record to 6 April 2016.
Amounts of additional State Pension (formerly State Earnings Related Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) built before 2016 are carried forward into the new system, as part of the calculation of the Starting Amount for new State Pension.
Where the amount of additional State Pension already built up at 6 April 2016 exceeded the full rate of new State Pension (when combined with basic State Pension eligibility) the excess will be paid to the individual as a ‘Protected Payment’ when they reach State Pension age.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what direct notification was given to people who retired after April 2016, having paid into SERPS, that their survivor benefits were to be (a) reduced for the second time or (b) eliminated; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Since 2014, DWP has run a comprehensive communications campaign, raising awareness of the new State Pension. This has included signposting people to resources that provide personalised information, so they can see what it might mean for them. This has included information on Gov.uk at www.gov.uk/new-state-pension and www.gov.uk/state-pension-through-partner about the new State Pension inheritance rules, including how these apply to different circumstances.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to require her Department and its agencies to provide a payroll deduction service to allow staff to save more easily with a credit union; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Payroll savings schemes are available to DWP employees.
DWP has existing arrangements with three of the UK’s leading credit unions; COMMSAVE, HEY (Hull and East Yorkshire) and VOYAGER. These credit unions offer a savings facility and a range of ethical financial services to everyone who works for DWP.
The payroll savings scheme with credit unions is part of DWP’s wider financial wellbeing toolkit, which is readily available to all employees through the staff intranet, and is promoted as part of our wider wellbeing offer.
DWP has no agencies, this response covers only DWP and does not extend to ALBs
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing to universal credit claimants infected by covid-19.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by over £1000 a year.
We have also increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.
We are also temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate.
Together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.
New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to people who have requested them.
The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design and the current advance system works, and works quickly.
It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated. In order to allow the Universal Credit system to cope with the unprecedented demand, we must limit the changes made to its framework.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to shorten or bypass the universal credit assessment period for people who (a) need to self-isolate or (b) are out of work due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by over £1000 a year.
We have also increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.
We are also temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate.
Together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.
New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to people who have requested them.
The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design and the current advance system works, and works quickly.
It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated. In order to allow the Universal Credit system to cope with the unprecedented demand, we must limit the changes made to its framework.