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1111212

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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	Pension Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on increasing take-up rates for pension credit in each year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	243355
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about Pension Credit to potential customers. This includes information on <a href="http://www.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>, in leaflets and by telephone as well as through DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres and staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit. The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the Pension Credit toolkit is an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The Pension Credit toolkit can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p> </p><p>The specific information requested on how much the DWP has spent on increasing take-up rates for Pension Credit in each year is not available.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 15/04/2019 15:18:32 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1111213

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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	Pension Credit
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 (a) amount of unclaimed pension credit and (b) average amount of unclaimed pension credit per eligible person in each year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	243356
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The table below shows estimates for the (a) amount of unclaimed Pension credit and (b) average amount of unclaimed pension credit per household in each year for which data is available.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total amount of unclaimed pension credit</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average (mean) weekly amount of unclaimed pension credit </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average (median) weekly amount of unclaimed pension credit </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p>£3.1bn</p></td><td><p>£41</p></td><td><p>£22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p>£2.9bn</p></td><td><p>£41</p></td><td><p>£23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p>£2.8bn</p></td><td><p>£42</p></td><td><p>£24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td><td><p>£2.7bn</p></td><td><p>£42</p></td><td><p>£25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p>£3.1bn</p></td><td><p>£49</p></td><td><p>£24</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Income related benefits: estimates of take-up 2016 to 2017</p><p> </p><p>Please note that figures in the publication reflect average amounts of unclaimed Pension Credit per household instead of per person. This is because data from the Family Resources Survey, a survey assessing households, is used to produce the figures in the publication.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 15/04/2019 15:34:05 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1110718

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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	State Retirement Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women receiving a state pension under the old pension rate.
tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
uin	242842
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is published and available at: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at: <a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As at August 2018, the most recent date for which data are available, there were 5,000,000 men and 6,800,000 women receiving State Pension calculated under the pre-2016 rules.</p><p> </p><p><em>(Source: DWP Administrative data. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000)</em></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 16/04/2019 14:22:40 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

1110719

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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	State Retirement Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women receiving pension payments that are below the state pension minimum.
tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
uin	242843
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2019 answer text <p>There is no single lowest or minimum payment of the State Pension. This is because the amount received varies depending on individual circumstances, including when State Pension age is reached, the National Insurance record and the qualifying rules under which the State Pension is calculated. This means it is not possible to provide an estimate of the numbers of people receiving the lowest amount or amounts below a minimum.</p><p> </p><p>The old State Pension (for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016) could be made up of the basic State Pension, additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit. Each of these elements had their own rules.</p><p> </p><p>For those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2010, an individual needed to have a minimum of one qualifying year of paid or treated as having been paid National Insurance contributions, and at least 25 per cent of the qualifying years required for a full basic State Pension in order to get any basic State Pension. Women normally needed 39 qualifying years and men 44 qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension (currently £129.20 per week). Proportionate rates were paid depending on the number of qualifying years once the minimum qualifying conditions were met.</p><p> </p><p>For those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010, but before 6th April 2016, one qualifying year of paid or credited National Insurance contributions gave entitlement to some basic State Pension and 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions were required for a full basic State Pension. Proportionate rates were paid depending on the number of qualifying years between one and 30.</p><p> </p><p>The amount of Additional State Pension was based on a person’s earnings, National Insurance position and whether they had been contracted out of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme or, from 2002, State Second Pension. Graduated Retirement Benefit was based on the number of units that had been obtained between 1961 and 1975.</p><p> </p><p>The new State Pension (for those reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016 onwards) is based on an individual’s National Insurance record. The minimum qualifying period is usually 10 years of contributions to get any new State Pension so a person with 10 qualifying years will receive 10/35ths of the full rate which is around £48 a week (2019/20 rates).</p><p> </p><p>People with no pre-existing National Insurance record prior to 6 April 2016 will require 35 years of contributions to receive the full new State Pension amount (currently £168.60 a week). Proportionate rates are paid depending on the number of qualifying years once the minimum qualifying conditions are met.</p><p> </p><p>For people with an existing National Insurance record at 6 April 2016, transitional arrangements take their previous contributions into account. This is done by calculating a starting amount for the new State Pension which is based on their previous National Insurance record. If the starting amount is less than the full rate of the new State Pension, they may be able to add qualifying years from 6 April 2016, until they reach the full amount or their State Pension age, whichever comes first. This means that they will receive at least as much from the new State Pension as they would have done from the old system, based on their National Insurance record to 6 April 2016.</p><p><br>Pensioners on a low income may be entitled to Pension Credit. Pension Credit is an income-related benefit for the poorest pensioners who have been unable to provide for their retirement. The amount of Pension Credit a person gets depends on how much money they have coming in each week and how much they have saved or invested.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 242844 question first answered 17/04/2019 11:25:16 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

1110720

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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	State Retirement Pensions
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 number of (a) men and (b) women receiving the lowest possible amount of state pension payment.
tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
uin	242844
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2019 answer text <p>There is no single lowest or minimum payment of the State Pension. This is because the amount received varies depending on individual circumstances, including when State Pension age is reached, the National Insurance record and the qualifying rules under which the State Pension is calculated. This means it is not possible to provide an estimate of the numbers of people receiving the lowest amount or amounts below a minimum.</p><p> </p><p>The old State Pension (for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016) could be made up of the basic State Pension, additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit. Each of these elements had their own rules.</p><p> </p><p>For those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2010, an individual needed to have a minimum of one qualifying year of paid or treated as having been paid National Insurance contributions, and at least 25 per cent of the qualifying years required for a full basic State Pension in order to get any basic State Pension. Women normally needed 39 qualifying years and men 44 qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension (currently £129.20 per week). Proportionate rates were paid depending on the number of qualifying years once the minimum qualifying conditions were met.</p><p> </p><p>For those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010, but before 6th April 2016, one qualifying year of paid or credited National Insurance contributions gave entitlement to some basic State Pension and 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions were required for a full basic State Pension. Proportionate rates were paid depending on the number of qualifying years between one and 30.</p><p> </p><p>The amount of Additional State Pension was based on a person’s earnings, National Insurance position and whether they had been contracted out of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme or, from 2002, State Second Pension. Graduated Retirement Benefit was based on the number of units that had been obtained between 1961 and 1975.</p><p> </p><p>The new State Pension (for those reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016 onwards) is based on an individual’s National Insurance record. The minimum qualifying period is usually 10 years of contributions to get any new State Pension so a person with 10 qualifying years will receive 10/35ths of the full rate which is around £48 a week (2019/20 rates).</p><p> </p><p>People with no pre-existing National Insurance record prior to 6 April 2016 will require 35 years of contributions to receive the full new State Pension amount (currently £168.60 a week). Proportionate rates are paid depending on the number of qualifying years once the minimum qualifying conditions are met.</p><p> </p><p>For people with an existing National Insurance record at 6 April 2016, transitional arrangements take their previous contributions into account. This is done by calculating a starting amount for the new State Pension which is based on their previous National Insurance record. If the starting amount is less than the full rate of the new State Pension, they may be able to add qualifying years from 6 April 2016, until they reach the full amount or their State Pension age, whichever comes first. This means that they will receive at least as much from the new State Pension as they would have done from the old system, based on their National Insurance record to 6 April 2016.</p><p><br>Pensioners on a low income may be entitled to Pension Credit. Pension Credit is an income-related benefit for the poorest pensioners who have been unable to provide for their retirement. The amount of Pension Credit a person gets depends on how much money they have coming in each week and how much they have saved or invested.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 242843 question first answered 17/04/2019 11:25:16 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

1110735

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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	State Retirement Pensions: Reciprocal Arrangements
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Government last held discussions with the Governments of (a) India and (b) Pakistan on reciprocal pensions agreements; and will she make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	242790
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>Successive governments – Labour, Coalition and Conservative have not entered into any new reciprocal social security agreements with non-EU countries since 1992. Any requests for a new agreement would be considered carefully to ensure maximum benefit and reciprocity for both parties</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 15/04/2019 14:40:48 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1110751

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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	Pension Credit: Wales
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 (a) number and (b) proportion of pensioners entitled to pension credit not in receipt of pension credit in each local authority area in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	242718
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The information requested on the (a) number and (b) proportion of pensioners entitled to pension credit not in receipt of pension credit in each local authority area in Wales is not available.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 15/04/2019 14:33:05 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1110277

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people who have benefited from pensions auto-enrolment are (a) women and (b) men.
tabling member constituency	Faversham and Mid Kent
tabling member printed	Helen Whately
uin	242219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>10.4 million workers have been automatically enrolled into workplace pension by more than 1.4 million employers. By 2019/20 an estimated extra £18.6 billion a year is estimated to go into workplace pensions as a result of Automatic Enrolment. Automatic Enrolment has reversed the decline in workplace pension saving.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic Enrolment was designed specifically to help groups who historically were poorly served or excluded from workplace pension saving, such as women and lower earners. It is equalising workplace pension participation among eligible men and women. In 2017, 81 per cent of eligible men and 80 per cent of eligible women in the private sector were saving into a workplace pension. This compares with 43 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in the private sector in 2012.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s 2017 review of Automatic Enrolment <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/668972/print-ready-automatic-enrolment-review-2017-maintaining-the-momentum.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/668972/print-ready-automatic-enrolment-review-2017-maintaining-the-momentum.pdf</a></p><p>set out our ambition for the mid-2020s, with proposals to strengthen financial resilience for traditionally excluded groups including women.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 16/04/2019 11:05:57 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4527 label Biography information for Helen Whately

1110301

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
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	State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to index the value of the UK state pension for British pensioners who live in Commonwealth countries.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	242248
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions paid to recipients living outside the UK has been in place for over 70 years. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality. Entitlement to the UK State Pension is based on the national insurance contributions on a person’s national insurance record. The annual index-linked increases to UK State Pensions are paid to recipients overseas only where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in EEA countries or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that provides for the up-rating of the UK State Pension. The Government has no plans to change the policy of all Governments, Labour, Coalition or Conservative since WW2.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 16/04/2019 11:27:49 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1109767

registered interest
date	04/04/2019
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: Consumer Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of delivering the online pensions dashboard; and what the timescale is for that delivery.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	240970
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2019 answer text <p>Pensions dashboards are a digital democratiser – they will open up pensions to millions - providing an easy-to-access online view of a saver's pensions.</p><p> </p><p>Government’s work on dashboards builds upon the Pensions Dashboard Prototype Project, managed by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) with the involvement of 17 pensions firms. We believe that, in the long term, as they develop to become more sophisticated, pensions dashboards could, as a minimum and as set out in our consultation response, help to achieve the following objectives:</p><p> </p><p>- increase individual awareness,</p><p>- build individual control,</p><p>- increase engagement,</p><p>- support the guidance process,</p><p>- reconnect individuals with lost pension pots</p><p>- and enable more informed user choices.</p><p> </p><p>A key priority for 2019 is for the Money and Pensions Service to establish the industry delivery group, and we also expect to see industry creating and testing dashboards this year. Government is committed to compelling pension schemes to make consumers’ data available to them through their chosen dashboard. Schemes need to start getting ready now, particularly in terms of preparing data. Pension schemes should be ready to provide consumer’s information to them via dashboards within a three to four years window.</p><p> </p><p>A copy of the consultation with details on next steps, legislation and timelines can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pensions-dashboards-feasibility-report-and-consultation" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pensions-dashboards-feasibility-report-and-consultation</a></p><p> </p><p>There is a role for government in facilitating industry's delivery of dashboards which work for consumers and put people in control of their data. That’s why, at the Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor allocated £3.35 million worth of funding for 2019/20 to support this endeavour.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the government’s response to the consultation on pensions dashboards stated that the Money and Pensions Service will draw on the Financial Services Levy and the General Levy on pension schemes to fund the non-commercial dashboard and the dashboard architecture. This levy is paid for by pension schemes. Additionally, there have been associated usual staff running costs for the department relating to the development of the policy.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/04/2019 16:09:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly