Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of lost income on women who have had an increase in their pensionable age.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is not possible to assess the financial impact at an individual level as it is highly dependent on a variety of characteristics. The financial impact on a small number of hypothetical cases was modelled for the 2011 Pensions Act Impact Assessment:
The gender impact assessment in annex A shows that, while some aspects of the Pensions Act 2011 provisions will impact women more strongly than men, the impact is not disproportionate and is a consequence of closing the gender gap in State Pension age earlier than under the previous legislation.
Our analysis also shows that the average woman reaching State Pension age last year (2015) gets a higher state pension income over her lifetime than an average woman who reached State Pension age at any point before her – despite the equalisation of State Pension age. Also, over a lifetime, the average woman who reached State Pension age last year will receive more than the average man. This is consistent with the trend going forward.
Further information on the impacts of the new State Pension can be found at:
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding the uprating of pensions that are frozen for people living overseas.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State is in regular contact with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on pensions issues. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and are uprated overseas where we have a legal requirement to do so – for example in the European Economic Area or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place which allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this policy.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account his Department is taking of future levels of healthy life expectancy in making decisions on future levels of pension age.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Pensions Act 2014 provides a statutory framework, which commits future governments to regular and structured review of the State Pension age at least once every six years. The first review, due to report by May 2017 will take into account up to date life expectancy data and the findings of the independently led review.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
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 effect on the uprating of pensions of British pensioners living in EU member states with which there was no previous bilateral agreement on the uprating of pensions of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Of course there is uncertainty about how a vote to leave the EU could impact on access to pensioner benefits for UK pensioners living in other parts of Europe. These questions would need to be answered as part of the process of negotiating the UK’s exit if there is a vote to leave. We could only consider the detail of access to pensions and benefits for people in receipt of UK state pensions who are resident in Europe as part of the process for leaving the EU.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to correct the computer error in the child maintenance system on the collection of arrears.
Answered by Priti Patel
There were well-documented IT failures in the 1993 and 2003 Child Support Agency (CSA) statutory child maintenance scheme systems. The Coalition government introduced a new Child Maintenance scheme in 2012 which addresses these issues. This is operated by the Child Maintenance Service and used a pathfinder approach to introduce new IT systems in a slow, safe and controlled way. The 2012 scheme systems are designed to be more cost-effective and overcome the key failings associated with the 1993 and 2003 CSA schemes and systems. We will be closing all the cases on the old schemes, and we are continuing to pursue existing debt.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the transition arrangements for women who have seen their pensionable age increase with limited transition.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 November 2015 to Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen), Question UIN 16901.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with the equity release industry on the potential contribution of equity release to supporting the income of pensioners.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has created the foundation for saving for retirement via automatic enrolment and the State Pension reforms and given individuals the freedom to use their own savings and access other sources of income or capital in the way that best suits their needs. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that around 80% of pensioners hold some form of housing equity. However, people who might choose to access potential sources of income, such as equity release or flexible pension products, will need to give careful consideration to whether it best suits their needs and how it could affect their income and entitlement to welfare, both now and in the future.
That is why the government set up Pension Wise to provide information and guidance on how people can access their pension saving flexibly. Information is widely available in terms of how income and capital are treated in the means-tested benefits. Officials have held discussions with the equity release industry in May 2014 and February 2015 to explain the interactions between equity release and means tested benefits.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
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 contribution of housing wealth to supporting the income of pensioners.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has created the foundation for saving for retirement via automatic enrolment and the State Pension reforms and given individuals the freedom to use their own savings and access other sources of income or capital in the way that best suits their needs. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that around 80% of pensioners hold some form of housing equity. However, people who might choose to access potential sources of income, such as equity release or flexible pension products, will need to give careful consideration to whether it best suits their needs and how it could affect their income and entitlement to welfare, both now and in the future.
That is why the government set up Pension Wise to provide information and guidance on how people can access their pension saving flexibly. Information is widely available in terms of how income and capital are treated in the means-tested benefits. Officials have held discussions with the equity release industry in May 2014 and February 2015 to explain the interactions between equity release and means tested benefits.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance and advice his Department provides for pensioners who exhaust their pension pots.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has created the foundation for saving via automatic enrolment and the State Pension reforms. The new State pension is there to provide a good basic level of income in retirement. The Government is encouraging saving and allowing people to access their pensions in a way that suits them.
DWP is committed to providing security for working people at every stage of their lives, and that includes giving people the chance to plan for a financially secure retirement.
The Government recognises that people need support which is why it set up Pension wise. Pension Wise is the Government's free, impartial retirement guidance service which helps members by giving guidance on different options available to them. Part of the Pension wise guidance is stressing the need to consider the need for lifetime income to minimise the risk of running out. This service is not intended to replicate or replace the need for professional financial advice which some people should take.
People can also turn to Money Advisory Service (MAS) and Citizens Advice Bureau for support if they are struggling with debt and need help to manage their finances.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has conducted research on the potential effect on the (a) rate of emigration and (b) number of pensioner returnees of unfreezing pensions.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At present DWP has not conducted any research into the behavioural impacts that the unfreezing of pensions may have on individuals’ migration decisions.