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1221082

registered interest
date	06/07/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Advisory Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Defined Contribution pension savers that have not received regulated financial advice had a telephone appointment with the Pension Wise guidance service before accessing their pension benefits in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	69459
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2020 answer text <p>Data on the number of Defined Contribution (DC) contract-based pots accessed without financial advice, but after taking Pension Wise guidance can be found in Tables 10-13 in FCA’s retirement income market data 2018/19 release: <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/data/retirement-income-market-data" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/data/retirement-income-market-data</a>. This data is not broken down by appointment type and as it does not include the trust-based DC market, does not cover the entire DC decumulation market.</p><p> </p><p>We do not hold data on the proportion of Defined Contribution savers that this represents, as people may have multiple pots and may not seek advice or guidance on each pot.</p><p> </p><p>The Money and Pensions Service publish information on the number of Pension Wise appointments delivered by appointment type in their Pension Wise service evaluation report 2018/19: <a href="https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2020/01/24/pension-wise-service-evaluation-2018-19-experiences-and-outcomes-of-customers/" target="_blank">https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2020/01/24/pension-wise-service-evaluation-2018-19-experiences-and-outcomes-of-customers/</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/07/2020 13:13:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1216375

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Income
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department taking to tackle the gap in pension income for (a) people who are BAME, (b) women and (c) low paid earners.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	62301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The level of earnings at which workers are automatically enrolled (the earnings trigger) is subject to an annual statutory review. The review includes analysis of the equalities impact and an assessment of reducing the trigger to the National Insurance threshold.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2014/15, the annual reviews have concluded that the earnings trigger be frozen at £10,000. People earning below the trigger have a right to opt in, and if they are earning above the lower earnings limit (£6,240 in 2020-21) they will receive an employer contribution.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic enrolment has hugely increased women’s pension participation, participation across all ethnic groups, and among lower earners. Among eligible women in the private sector, participation has increased from 40% in 2012 to 86% in 2019, equal to men. Among eligible employees in the private sector earning between £10,000 and £20,000, 19% were participating into a workplace pension in 2012. As of 2019, this rate had increased to 79%, a 60 percentage point increase.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 62302 62303 question first answered 25/06/2020 16:43:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1216376

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	National Insurance Contributions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department made of the potential merits of lowering the annual earnings necessary for auto-enrolment to the National Insurance lower earnings limit of £6240.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	62302
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The level of earnings at which workers are automatically enrolled (the earnings trigger) is subject to an annual statutory review. The review includes analysis of the equalities impact and an assessment of reducing the trigger to the National Insurance threshold.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2014/15, the annual reviews have concluded that the earnings trigger be frozen at £10,000. People earning below the trigger have a right to opt in, and if they are earning above the lower earnings limit (£6,240 in 2020-21) they will receive an employer contribution.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic enrolment has hugely increased women’s pension participation, participation across all ethnic groups, and among lower earners. Among eligible women in the private sector, participation has increased from 40% in 2012 to 86% in 2019, equal to men. Among eligible employees in the private sector earning between £10,000 and £20,000, 19% were participating into a workplace pension in 2012. As of 2019, this rate had increased to 79%, a 60 percentage point increase.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 62301 62303 question first answered 25/06/2020 16:43:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1216377

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Ethnic Groups
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion of BAME workers who are part of the workplace pensions system.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	62303
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The level of earnings at which workers are automatically enrolled (the earnings trigger) is subject to an annual statutory review. The review includes analysis of the equalities impact and an assessment of reducing the trigger to the National Insurance threshold.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2014/15, the annual reviews have concluded that the earnings trigger be frozen at £10,000. People earning below the trigger have a right to opt in, and if they are earning above the lower earnings limit (£6,240 in 2020-21) they will receive an employer contribution.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic enrolment has hugely increased women’s pension participation, participation across all ethnic groups, and among lower earners. Among eligible women in the private sector, participation has increased from 40% in 2012 to 86% in 2019, equal to men. Among eligible employees in the private sector earning between £10,000 and £20,000, 19% were participating into a workplace pension in 2012. As of 2019, this rate had increased to 79%, a 60 percentage point increase.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 62301 62302 question first answered 25/06/2020 16:43:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1216378

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the future retirement income of (a) women, (b) BAME workers, (c) self employed workers and (d) gig economy workers.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	62304
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>Helping people to save for their futures remains a key priority for this Government. We have put in place an unprecedented package of support to strengthen job and income security during the emergency to help workers, including those disproportionately affected, to better manage costs during the crisis, while supporting longer term financial resilience.</p><p> </p><p>We are monitoring the impacts of covid-19 on workplace pension participation and saving levels and are working closely with the pensions industry and across government to understand the impact of the emergency. However, at this stage, it is not possible to draw robust conclusions on the impact of covid-19 including the impact on the self-employed, women and BAME.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2020 16:40:15 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1199085

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential increase in pension scams since the start of covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	51610
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>To assess and respond to the impacts of Covid-19 on the pension industry and pension savers, DWP has established a cross-government and regulator group and has been working with the pension industry to understand emerging impacts.</p><p> </p><p>This group is informed by a separate data monitoring group that co-ordinates the aggregation of data from a range of sources, including government, regulators and pension industry bodies, to identify trends including any increase in pension scams activity.</p><p> </p><p>Data received so far has revealed little evidence of an increase, however it may take time for impacts to materialise. We will of course continue to monitor the situation to assess if there has been any increase in pension scams activity as a result of the crisis.</p><p> </p><p>The PPF, in collaboration with regulators and pensions bodies, recently published a guide,’COVID-19 and your pension: where to get help’, which answers common pension concerns and helps individuals find the right support. This includes guidance for individuals who are concerned about pension scams.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.ppf.co.uk/covid-19-pensions" target="_blank">https://www.ppf.co.uk/covid-19-pensions</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/06/2020 12:53:00 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1199086

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people that (a) opted-out and (b) ceased active membership of auto-enrolment pension schemes since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	51611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>Key to supporting both businesses and pension savers is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which offers an unprecedented package of support for businesses. Under the CJRS grants have been available to employers to support business by covering up to 80 percent of a furloughed worker’s regular salary, capped at £2,500 per month. Additionally, the grants also cover statutory minimum employer pension contributions into registered pension schemes on behalf of furloughed employees.</p><p> </p><p>On 29<sup>th</sup> May the Chancellor announced how changes to the CJRS will be phased in prior to closure of the scheme at the end of October. The changes provide flexibility from July when furloughed workers will be able to return to work part-time. From August employers will be asked to pay employer NICs and pensions contributions for their workers.</p><p> </p><p>Helping people save for their futures remains a key priority for Government, and employers are still required to comply with obligations under automatic enrolment to enrol employees into workplace pensions and then make contributions. We have asked employers to share the costs of paying the wages of furloughed workers and starting with the costs of employer national insurance and pension contributions is a simple and fair way to do that.</p><p> </p><p>By easing the burden of workplace pensions for employers, we are helping them better manage costs during the crisis whilst supporting long-term saving for the future.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not yet have suitable data to make an assessment of the number of employees who have reduced their contributions, or have stopped saving, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p> </p><p>The last assessment by the Department of opt-out and cessation was published in our 2019 Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report, when we estimated that 0.76 per cent of savers in the first quarter of the 2019/20 financial year made an active decision to stop saving.</p><p> </p><p>The Department continues to monitor Automatic Enrolment using a range of sources such as the annual Workplace Pension Participation Statistics, which will next be published on 18th June covering workplace pension participation and contributions up to April 2019.</p><p /><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883289/automatic-enrolment-evaluation-report-2019.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883289/automatic-enrolment-evaluation-report-2019.pdf</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 51613 question first answered 09/06/2020 12:30:05 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1199088

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Advisory Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have booked a Pension Wise guidance session since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	51612
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>Pension Wise have been successful in increasing demand for guidance appointments year on year from a standing start in 2015. During the 2019-2020 financial year there were 205,643 available appointments.</p><p> </p><p>Since the 11<sup>th</sup> March 2020, the Money and Pension Service have been collating Covid-19 figures. From this point up until 2<sup>nd</sup> June 2020, 21,663 bookings for Pension Wise guidance sessions have been made. The Money and Pension Service has successfully adapted its methods for delivering Pension Wise guidance during the Covid-19 outbreak to ensure that it can maintain its service. As face-to-face appointments have not been possible at this time, the Money and Pension Service have focussed on digital and telephone delivery channels to maintain levels of service. This has involved working proactively with customers who were booked for a face-to-face session and offering channel shift to ensure that support is still given to meet customer needs.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 52038 question first answered 09/06/2020 12:43:24 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1199089

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees have reduced their contributions into auto-enrolment schemes since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	51613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>Key to supporting both businesses and pension savers is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which offers an unprecedented package of support for businesses. Under the CJRS grants have been available to employers to support business by covering up to 80 percent of a furloughed worker’s regular salary, capped at £2,500 per month. Additionally, the grants also cover statutory minimum employer pension contributions into registered pension schemes on behalf of furloughed employees.</p><p> </p><p>On 29<sup>th</sup> May the Chancellor announced how changes to the CJRS will be phased in prior to closure of the scheme at the end of October. The changes provide flexibility from July when furloughed workers will be able to return to work part-time. From August employers will be asked to pay employer NICs and pensions contributions for their workers.</p><p> </p><p>Helping people save for their futures remains a key priority for Government, and employers are still required to comply with obligations under automatic enrolment to enrol employees into workplace pensions and then make contributions. We have asked employers to share the costs of paying the wages of furloughed workers and starting with the costs of employer national insurance and pension contributions is a simple and fair way to do that.</p><p> </p><p>By easing the burden of workplace pensions for employers, we are helping them better manage costs during the crisis whilst supporting long-term saving for the future.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not yet have suitable data to make an assessment of the number of employees who have reduced their contributions, or have stopped saving, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p> </p><p>The last assessment by the Department of opt-out and cessation was published in our 2019 Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report, when we estimated that 0.76 per cent of savers in the first quarter of the 2019/20 financial year made an active decision to stop saving.</p><p> </p><p>The Department continues to monitor Automatic Enrolment using a range of sources such as the annual Workplace Pension Participation Statistics, which will next be published on 18th June covering workplace pension participation and contributions up to April 2019.</p><p /><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883289/automatic-enrolment-evaluation-report-2019.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883289/automatic-enrolment-evaluation-report-2019.pdf</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 51611 question first answered 09/06/2020 12:30:05 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1186500

registered interest
date	19/03/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to extend the winter fuel allowance for recipients who (a) have to self-isolate or (b) are diagnosed with covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	32053
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">There are no plans to extend the winter fuel allowance scheme. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has, however, published a series of measures designed to help those affected by the coronavirus outbreak with the cost of their energy bills. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Further information on the measures is available here:</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-agrees-measures-with-energy-industry-to-support-vulnerable-people-through-covid-19" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-agrees-measures-with-energy-industry-to-support-vulnerable-people-through-covid-19</a></ins></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/03/2020 14:36:54 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:03:49 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 14287 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle