§ 20. Mr. LeggTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies to encourage personal pensions.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe success of the Government's policy in encouraging personal pensions is amply demonstrated by the fact that 5 million people are currently personal pension holders.
§ 22. Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures his Department is planning to encourage personal choice in pensions.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Government are committed to encouraging choice and flexibility in pension provision. We have introduced measures to ensure that individuals are able to obtain the information they need to make informed choices, and we are considering whether more can be done in this area. It is clear that individuals wish to take advantage of the choices available to make provision for their own retirement–5 million people have used 99W personal pensions to contract out of the state earnings-related pension scheme since we introduced the option in 1988.