HC Deb 06 March 2003 vol 400 cc1187-8W
Mr. Webb

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for City of York (Hugh Bayley) of 9 January 2003,Official Report, column 362W, on second pensions, if he will place in the Library the research that shows combined pension forecasts have the potential to encourage many people to save more. [92509]

Mr. Willetts

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 13 January 2003, to the hon. Member for City of York (Hugh Bayley),Official Report, column 362W, on second pensions, if he will make a statement on the research on the impact of occupational pension forecasts; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [92051]

Mr. McCartney

The combined pension forecasting service, an initiative jointly pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions and the pensions industry with the support of the Association of British Insurers and National Association of Pension Funds, was introduced following a series of pilot exercises with representatives from the private sector.

During the pilot phase, almost 33,500 combined statements were issued. Individual detailed results demonstrating the impact of the combined statement and their potential to encourage people to save more for their retirement are commercially sensitive. We do not have the permission of all the participating companies to release all the data. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to publish this information. However, in total some

2003, Official Report, column 967–68W, on pensions, what the median income is of each quintile of the income distribution for pensioners over 80. [99728]

Mr. McCartney

The information requested is in the following table.

The median net income of pensioner units aged 80 and above by quintile of the net income distribution, 2000–01.

98 per cent. of those who received a forecast found it useful and 31 per cent. sought further information about increasing their pension provision.

The Government are committed to ensuring that people of working age have the information they need to help them take personal responsibility and plan for their financial future.

Currently the combined pensions forecast service is a voluntary one. Our proposals in the Green Paper "Simplicity, Security and Choice: working and saving for retirement", Cm 5677, would place a statutory requirement on employers and pension providers to issue combined pension forecasts which would ensure that the total potential audience enjoys the benefits of the service. We are consulting on this.

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