§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the date of October 2001 is to be maintained as the target for helping potential benefit customers652W understand (a) their future entitlement to retirement pension and (b) the importance of saving for their retirement; how this target will be achieved; how much it is expected to cost; and if he will make a statement. [125439]
§ Mr. RookerThe first combined pension forecasts, which include details of both State and private pension rights, were issued to Prudential customers in April in one of a series of pilots we are conducting. Other pilot employers and pension providers will issue combined forecasts later this year. We are on course to meet or exceed our target to start the full-scale service from 2002.
Availability of the full service depends on putting in place a new computer system that can issue the much higher numbers of State Pension forecasts which will be needed, up to 15 million a year from 2005. Our target date for introducing this new service will be £14.5 million with ongoing running costs of £7.5 million a year once the service has bedded down.
Combined pension forecasts will, for the first time, provide individuals with a clear indication of what sort of retirement income to expect. This will enable them to make better-informed decisions on what savings they need to make.