§ Sir Andrew BowdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of pensioners opted to receive their state pension by bank automated credit transfer in 1994.
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThis is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend with such information as is available.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Sir Andrew Bowden, dated 19 January 1995:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the proportion of pensioners receiving payment of Retirement Pension (RP) by bank automated credit transfer (ACT).Information is not available in the exact form requested. This is because information is not collated to define whether ACT payments are made to either a bank or building society account. To provide information specifically relating to ACT payments made to banks would incur a disproportionate cost.As of 20 November 1994, the latest date for which figures are available, a total of 2,844,721 pensioners were having their RP paid by ACT. This represented 28.63 per cent. of the total caseload.I hope you find this reply helpful.