Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) the value of payments made to qualifying With-Profits Annuitants under the Equitable Life Payments Scheme for each year since 2019, and (b) the projected value of future payments to qualifying With-Profits Annuitants under the Equitable Life Payments Scheme to the year 2050.
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016. The methodology for calculating payments to Equitable Life policyholders was published in 2011 and extensively reviewed and there are no plans to reopen any previous decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
The value of payments made to With-Profits Annuitants from the Equitable Life Payment Scheme in each financial year since 2019 is as follows:
2019-20 £31,137,789
2020-21 £30,246,425
2021-22 £27,986,074
The projected value of remaining payments to WPAs until 2050 is £251 million.