§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in the(a) number and (b) membership of final salary schemes on long-term pension savings. [70440]
§ Mr. McCartneyThere has been a long-term decline in the number and membership of final salary pension schemes, for a combination of reasons.
The Government have announced that it will be taking a radical look at occupational and personal pension provision and coming forward with proposals in a Green Paper in the autumn.
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of(a) 20 to 30, (b) 30 to 40, (c) 40 to 50 and (d) 50 to 60-year-olds belong to (i) personal pension schemes and (ii) occupational pension schemes. [70439]
§ Mr. McCartneyInformation on the percentage of people who are members of pension schemes is not available. The information in the table shows estimates of percentages of people for whom contributions are being made by themselves or by their employer to pension schemes.
519W
Age 20– 29 30– 39 40– 49 50– 59 Percentage of adults contributing to a personal pension scheme 7 17 17 15 Percentage of adults contributing to an occupational pension scheme 23 38 41 33 Notes:
1 The figures relate to the percentage of all adults (defined as all those aged 16 and over, except 16 to 18-year-olds in full time non-advanced education) whether in employment, self employed or economically inactive.
2. Adults contributing to both types of scheme will be contained in both sets of figures.
3. The figures will not include those who have previous pension rights in a scheme but who are not currently contributing.
4. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for region, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.
Source:
Family Resources Survey 2000– 01
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of(a) 20 to 30, (b) 30 to 40, (c) 40 to 50 and (d) 50 to 60-year-olds have opted out of SERPS in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) men and (ii) women. [70441]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe information requested is not available. Information on the percentage of people contracted out of SERPS covering the period 1992–93 to 1996– 97 is in the table.
Per cent. Age group 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 1992–93 Total 75.0 83.6 72.7 53.6 Men 78.1 94.5 89.7 61.7 Women 71.7 70.0 53.6 43.5 1993–94 Total 72.4 85.3 73.0 53.2 Men 74.8 95.6 90.2 61.2 Women 69.9 72.5 54.2 43.5 1994–95 Total 67.7 86.3 72.9 53.1 Men 69.5 96.2 89.4 60.7 Women 65.8 74.3 54.9 44.3 1995–96 Total 63.8 88.5 75.0 54.9 Men 64.5 96.9 89.7 61.3 Women 63.1 78.3 59.1 47.5 1996–97 Total 59.5 90.8 77.6 57.3 Men 59.8 98.5 92.5 64.6 Women 59.1 81.6 61.6 49.0 Notes:
1. Figures are taken from the Lifetime Labour Market Database (LLMDB), extracted from the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS).
2. Figures are taken from a 1 per cent. sample so may be subject to sampling variation.
3. The number of individuals who have opted out of SERPS was calculated by determining how many individuals were members of contracted-out occupational schemes or Appropriate Personal Pension (APP) schemes at some point during each year.
4. The percentages were derived from the number of individuals in each age group, in each year who were Class 1 National Insurance Contribution Contributors, i.e. those individuals who were in employment and could thus opt out of SERPS.
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§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many occupational schemes are in operation in the UK: and how many employees have belonged to each scheme in each of the last 10 years. [70443]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe information is not available in the form requested. The available information is set out as follows.
Number of occupational schemes registered as 'live' (to nearest 1,000)—103,000.Notes:
1. 'Live' schemes include:
schemes which are open to new members;
`closed' schemes which new members can not join;
schemes which have 'frozen' where no new benefits are being accrued; and
schemes that are in the process of winding up.
2. Figure is as at 2 July 2002.
Source:
Pension Schemes Registry.
Number of employees for which contributions are currently being made to occupational pension schemes Number of employees (million) 1996–97 10.3 1997–98 10.4 1998–99 10.7 1999–2000 10.6 2000–01 10.7 Notes:
1. Between 1998–99 and 1999–2000 there was a change in methodology on the Family Resources Survey—the estimates for the years 1999–2000 and 2000–01 are not comparable to those for previous years.
2. Figures include both employees who are contributing and/or for whom contributions are being made by the employer.
3. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for region, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.
4. Estimates may differ from those provided in different surveys.
Source:
Family Resources Survey