Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will allow British National (Overseas) visa holders to voluntarily pay up to 15 years' worth of Class 3 national insurance contributions towards a state pension, in cases where such visa holders have been denied access to their Mandatory Provident Fund pension savings by HSBC.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

British National Overseas individuals who live or work abroad (or have previously) are usually able to make backdated voluntary National Insurance contributions payments for the previous six tax years where they have either previously lived in the UK for three years in a row or paid at least three years of contributions.

For the tax years 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to 2018 the government has extended the deadline for paying voluntary contributions to 5 April 2025.

The deadline has also been extended to 5 April 2025 for eligible customers to pay voluntary contributions for the tax years 6 April 2006 to 5 April 2016. Further guidance on the eligibility and deadlines for making voluntary contributions, including for those living or working abroad is published online at https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions(opens in a new tab).

The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide (1) an apology, and (2) compensation, to women born in the 1950s, as recommended by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in its report, Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to formally respond to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into the communication of state pension age increases, published on 21 March 2024.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce a compensation scheme for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support women affected by changes to the state pension age with the cost of living.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to ensuring that older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve, and the State Pension is the foundation of state support in retirement. Last year the State Pension saw its biggest ever cash rise, increasing by 10.1%. From April, the basic and new State Pensions will increase by 8.5%, in line with the Triple Lock.

The Government is delivering a comprehensive package of support to help those aged 50 and over to remain in and return to work. We are also committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it, including when they near or reach retirement, through the welfare benefits system. Support is available to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age.

In addition, the government has provided support from 2022-23 to 2023-2024 to help households with the cost of living totalling £96 billion. We are providing further support for 24/25, including uprating working age benefits by 6.7%, raising the National Living Wage and uplifting Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of local rents which will benefit 1.6 million private renters by, on average, £800 a year.

The government is also providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund. This will enable further targeted support for people who require assistance to get back to a stable financial position as inflation continues to fall.

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 implications of the state pension rise from April 2024 for the sustainability of pension funding.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The new State Pension was introduced in April 2016 with the aim of providing a clearer, sustainable foundation for State Pensions for decades to come.

Each year, the Government Actuary’s Department publishes a report showing the impact of uprating decisions on the National insurance Fund. The most recent report in January this year took into account the 8.5% increase in the basic and new State Pensions which will come into force from 8 April. The assessment was that the Fund would have enough money to self-finance for at least the next five years. HM Treasury has the ability to top up the National Fund from the Consolidated Fund when needed, even if receipts do not match expenditure. The report said that a Treasury Grant would not be needed in the next five years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of abolishing National Insurance Contributions on funding for state pensions.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes the double taxation of work is unfair. That is why we’ve cut 4p from employee NICs in the last six months which will mean the average worker receives a tax cut worth £900 this coming year and why we are committed to ending this unfairness.

Cutting NICs rates does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of abolishing National Insurance Contributions on determining eligibility criteria for the state pension.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes the double taxation of work is unfair. That is why we’ve cut 4p from employee NICs in the last six months which will mean the average worker receives a tax cut worth £900 this coming year and why we are committed to ending this unfairness.

Cutting NICs rates does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16811 on State Retirement Pensions: National Insurance Contributions, how many days his Department took on average to reassess a citizen's claim to state pensions following notification of an updated National Insurance record by HMRC in the latest year for which data is available; and how many people waited more than one month for their claim to be reassessed in that period.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Financial Statement from 6 March 2024, Official Report, column 851, whether his Department has made an assessment of potential alternative funding mechanisms for the State Pension.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes the double taxation of work is unfair. That is why we’ve cut 4p from employee NICs in the last six months which will mean the average worker receives a tax cut worth £900 this coming year and why we are committed to ending this unfairness.

Cutting NICs rates does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of abolishing national insurance contributions on state pension entitlements.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes the double taxation of work is unfair. That is why we’ve cut 4p from employee NICs in the last six months which will mean the average worker receives a tax cut worth £900 this coming year and why we are committed to ending this unfairness.

Cutting NICs rates does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the state pension age will increase to (a) 67 in 2026-28 and (b) 68 in 2044-46.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The increase to age 67 in 2026-2028 will continue as set out in Pensions Act 2014. Due to uncertainties in relation to life expectancy data, labour markets and the public finances, the Government committed to undertake a further State Pension age review within two years of the next Parliament to consider the appropriateness of the rules on the State Pension age rise to 68 in 2044-46.

Full details of the Governments conclusions were published in the State Pension age Review 2023 (Section 1.4) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-age-review-2023-government-report/state-pension-age-review-2023.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increasing the state pension age to (a) 67 in 2026-28 and (b) 68 in 2044-46 on levels of pensioner poverty.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty. In 2021/22 there were 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10.

As evaluations of the impacts of State Pension age rises have been retrospective it is not possible to robustly and comparably estimate future impacts of changes in State Pension age on pensioner poverty levels. The March 2023 State Pension age Review published our analysis of the impact of previous SPa changes. This shows the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 led to a temporary increase in the absolute poverty rate for 65-year-olds with those affected lifted out of poverty once their new State Pension age was reached. The analysis also found positive employment effects from increasing the State Pension age from 65 to 66, as people responded by working longer and on average earned more than if they had retired and claimed State Pension.

State Pension age Review 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of people with disabilities in the UK that (a) stopped receiving a mobility allowance and (b) lost access to the Motability Scheme as a result of reaching state pension age in 2023.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) before reaching state pension age, are still entitled to their award after reaching state pension age.

No claimant over state pension age will lose their mobility component or access to the Motability scheme providing they continue to meet the qualifying conditions of the benefit.

During 2022-23, an average of 226,000 PIP claimants of pension age received the enhanced mobility award in England & Wales. Any claimant in receipt of enhanced rate mobility can choose to exchange this for a lease on a Motability car, powered wheelchair or scooter.

We do not hold data on how many PIP claimants over state pension age choose to use the Motability scheme.

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 publishing compensation scheme proposals for the women affected by the state pension age changes.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation on State Pension age communications is ongoing and Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.

The Department is cooperating fully with the Ombudsman’s investigation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice exercise to identify people who have been underpaid State Pension, how many people identified as having received an underpayment have deceased, by each category of error; in how many of those cases his Department (a) has been unable to identify an heir and (b) has sent a letter to an heir and (i) has not received a response and (ii) has received a response but payment has not yet been made; and what steps his Department is taking to (A) identify heirs and (B) follow up cases where no response has been received to an initial contact letter.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

The Department uses all available resources to identify heirs. In the instance when a response is not received for the initial contact letter, we issue further letters inviting the heir to contact DWP.

The Department will be publishing its progress with the State Pension Underpayment Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) exercises to the end of February 2024 before the end of March 2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) physical and (b) mental ability of people to work (i) until and (ii) beyond the state pension age.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department provides information to support people to make informed decisions such as Midlife MOT sessions in Jobcentres, and the digital Midlife MOT offer available to everyone online which offers financial, health and career guidance. There is no requirement for people to work beyond the State Pension age, however some people may choose to.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) physical and (b) mental feasibility of people being able to continue working (i) until the existing state pension age and (ii) beyond that age.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department provides information to support people to make informed decisions such as Midlife MOT sessions in Jobcentres, and the digital Midlife MOT offer available to everyone online which offers financial, health and career guidance. There is no requirement for people to work beyond the State Pension age, however some people may choose to.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) physical and (b) mental ability of people to work (i) until and (ii) beyond the state pension age.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department provides information to support people to make informed decisions such as Midlife MOT sessions in Jobcentres, and the digital Midlife MOT offer available to everyone online which offers financial, health and career guidance. There is no requirement for people to work beyond the State Pension age, however some people may choose to.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria the Government uses to assess whether to amend the state pension age.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Under Section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014, the Secretary of State has a duty to periodically review whether the existing rules about State Pension age are appropriate. He must consider evidence about life expectancy and appoint an independent reviewer to report to him on other factors that are relevant for the review.

The second Government Review of State Pension age was published on 30 March 2023. Government concluded that the planned increase in State Pension age from 66 to 67 will take place between 2026-2028. Government also concluded that due to uncertainties in relation to life expectancy data, labour markets and the public finances, there will be a further review within two years of the next Parliament to consider age 68. The further review will be supported by the latest evidence, including life expectancy projections, updated with 2021 Census data, and the economic position.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to (a) collect and (b) publish management information on the number of people who have (i) had changes to their National Insurance record and (ii) are waiting to have their state pension calculation updated.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP does not publish this information as changes to a citizen’s National Insurance Record forms part of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) function. When DWP receives notification from HMRC of a change in a citizen’s National Insurance record, DWP reviews the State Pension claim accordingly.

The vast majority of changes to a citizen’s National Insurance Record are processed by DWP within days. However, more complex cases requiring specialist caseworkers can take longer to resolve.