§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects take-up of stakeholder pensions to reach(a) 500,000, (b) 1 million, (c) 1.5 million and (d) 2 million; and what estimate he has made of the eventual level of take-up of stakeholder pensions. [65420]
§ Mr. TimmsThe take-up of Stakeholder Pensions will depend on a number of factors and cannot be reliably predicted. There are estimated to be in the region of 5 million potential beneficiaries earning between £9,000 and £20,000 per annum: over 2 million people currently in SERPS, 2 million who currently have Appropriate Personal Pensions, and 1 million self employed people (some with personal pensions).
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what basis the figure of £9,000 per year was chosen as the value below which individuals would not be encouraged to take out stakeholder pensions. [65576]
§ Mr. TimmsThe figure of £9,000 was judged to be broadly the annual earnings level where, at current levels of compulsion, pension contributions would be sufficient to make funded pensions cost-effective. This was based on a range of information, including minimum contribution levels used for the sale of personal pensions.
372W
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update his estimates based on the Family Resources Survey 1996–97 of(a) median pensioner incomes, excluding means-tested benefits, by age, sex and marital status, consistent with his answer of 12 November 1998, official report, columns 295–98, and (b) the size of each group. [65581]
§ Mr. TimmsThe information is set out in the tables.
Pensioner units' median gross income excluding means-tested benefits, by age £ per week 1996–97 Age 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 and over Single male pensioners n/a 122 121 104 95 Single female pensioners 116 99 94 85 85 Pensioner couples n/a 239 206 181 167 Notes:
1. All amounts are in £s per week at July 1996 prices. They are rounded to the nearest £1, although estimates are not necessarily accurate to this level.
2. Estimates are for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single (non-cohabiting) person over State Pension Age (65 years or above for men and 60 years or above for women), or a couple (married or cohabiting) where the man, defined as the head, is over State Pension Age. Estimates for pensioner couples are broken down by the age of the man.
3. Estimates marked 'n/a' are not applicable. Single men and couples are defined as Pensioner Units only if the man is aged 65 years or above.
4. Means-tested benefits are defined as Income Support, Family Credit, Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit.
5. Levels of means-tested benefit may be particularly affected by mis-reporting as receipt of State Retirement Pension and receipt of Income Support are often confused in the FRS.
Source:
The Pensioners' Incomes Series dataset, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
Number of pensioner units by age and marital status Thousand 1996–97 Age 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 and over Single male pensioners n/a 250 210 210 260 Single female pensioners 320 550 710 670 980 Pensioner couples n/a 960 810 500 360 Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 Pensioner Units.
2. Estimates are for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single (non-cohabiting) person over State Pension Age (65 years or above for men and 60 years or above for women), or a couple (married or cohabiting) where the man, defined as the head, is over State Pension Age. Estimates for pensioner couples are broken down by the age of the man.
3. Estimates marked 'n/a' are not applicable. Single men and couples are defined as Pensioner Units only if the man is aged 65 years or above.
4. Estimates are not controlled to independent population estimates by the age bands used.
Source:
The Pensioners' Incomes Series dataset, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
373W
§ Mr. AshtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many old age pensioners who have become eligible for their benefit since 1 October have not received their pension, and for what reason; and what explanation, or notification, has been given to them as to when they may expect to be paid. [66467]
§ Mr. TimmsPeople entitled to Retirement Pension since 1 October 1998 will have received their pension provided they have made a claim. If the contribution record to determine their claims could not be obtained because of the difficulties with the NIRS2, they will have been offered emergency payments and told the reason. I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security gave the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Rendel) on 4 November 1998,official report, columns 603–06. It is estimated that 3 per cent. of claims fall into this category; this relates to about 1,500 claims a month (or 4,500 between October and December 1998).