Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable people who will become ineligible for pension credit and other passported benefits as a result of the April 2018 state pension increase taking their income above the standard minimum guarantee threshold for pension credit.

In April 2018 there was above indexation increase in the standard minimum guarantee of Pension Credit, to match the cash increase in the basic State Pension. This prevents the increase in the basic State Pension (in isolation) from taking people out of the scope of Pension Credit, excluding the impact of any other changes in circumstances. The full rate of the new State Pension is set each year above the level of the basic means test in Pension Credit, reducing reliance on means testing over time and providing a firm foundation on which to build private pension provision.