Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, What recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that Equitable Life policyholders are reimbursed.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 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.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the total £1.5 billion allocated for the Equitable Life Payments Scheme is paid out to affected Equitable Life policyholders.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has paid in compensation to affected Equitable Life policyholders as of 8 February 2024.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
At 31 December 2023, the total value of payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was £1,330,835,466.52.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times officials in his Department have met affected Equitable Life policyholders in the last 12 months.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
At 31 December 2023, the total value of payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was £1,330,835,466.52.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to establish a new compensation scheme for Equitable Life policyholders.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 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.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that any underspend of the allocated Equitable Life compensation will be distributed amongst policyholders.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department (a) forecasted would be spent and (b) spent on compensation for Equitable Life policyholders at 2011 prices in each financial year since 2011.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will require Willis Towers Watson to publish the assumptions and intermediate calculations used in calculating the relative losses of Equitable Life policyholders following maladministration.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the methodology previously published, if he will take steps to publish the assumptions and intermediate calculations used in calculating the relative losses of Equitable Life policyholders following maladministration.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.