Retirement Pension

HC Deb 18 January 1982 vol 16 cc45-6W

Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why, on the forms MF2 and MF4 making claims for retirement pensions, applicants are required to send their certificate of baptism; what happens regarding a person who has not been baptised or is of no religion; and whether he will take action to cease this practice forthwith.

Mr. Rossi

Claimants to retirement pension are required to provide proof of age. In most cases this is provided through the statutory birth certificate. Only when that is not available does the Department seek some secondary evidence of date of birth, or, alternatively, the details necessary to allow pursuit of further inquiries through the Registrar General. The most commonly available secondary evidence of birth date is a certificate of baptism but in the absence of such a certificate other secondary evidence may be considered, as listed on form MF5.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why a signed photostat of a birth certificate and marriage certificate is not accepted by his Department for the purposes of claiming retirement pension.

Mr. Rossi

Because of the ease with which alteration of an original document can be concealed by a photographic copy, photocopies are not accepted in isolation as certification of the date of the relevant event. We are currently considering the possibilities of allowing increased use of photocopies as an administrative simplification in circumstances where the possibility of fraud is not in issue.

Mr. Murphy

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to amend the Social Security Act 1975 in order to enable pensions to be paid from the actual date of retirement rather than the subsequent Thursday.

Mr. Rossi

No. We are not convinced that it would be in the long-term interests of retirement pensioners to switch from the present weekly basis of payment to a daily basis. It would lead to loss of benefit and considerable administrative complication to cope with minor changes of circumstances. The designation of retirement pension pay days is linked to provisions to spread the payment work load in post offices as evenly as possible. New claimants to pension are free to arrange their retirement for the day preceding their retirement pension pay day.