§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the(a) number and (b) proportion of pensioners who at the point of retirement had weekly income from pensions and other sources greater than their basic state retirement pension (i) 30 years ago, (ii) 25 years ago, (iii) 20 years ago, (iv) 15 years ago, (v) 10 years ago, (vi) five years ago and (vii) at the point when the latest available data were collected. [120240]
§ Mr. RookerI regret the information is not available.
§ Mr. CoakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recommendations have been made by the Retirement Income Working Party; and if he will make a statement. [120202]
§ Mr. RookerThe Retirement Income Working Party is an independent body and has no links with Government. We welcome this report and are studying its recommendations. We understand that both full and summary versions of this report are available on the internet at www.bbk.ac.uk/res/pi/reports.
§ Mr. CoakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what advice he is giving to people who have no record of a phone-call made reassuring them about future SERPs entitlement in respect of the compensation scheme. [120127]
40W
§ Mr. RookerAs our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement to the House on the 15 March, we shall put before the House full details of the inherited SERPS scheme, including what information we will require from those wishing to claim and the procedures that will be followed to scrutinise those claims.
We fully accept the report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Public Administration into inherited SERPS, which concludes at paragraph 32 that the burden of proof in the scheme rests on this Department.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much it will cost in(a) the UK and (b) Scotland to increase the basic state pension for the (i) over 70s and (ii) over 80s by (1) £2, (2) £3, (3) £4, (4) £5 and (5) £10 a week. [119970]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 20 April 2000]: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
Estimates for Great Britain and Scotland £ million Great Britain Scotland Annual cost of increasing basic state pension Over 70s Over 80s Over 70s Over 80s £2 Gross 650 250 50 1— Net 500 150 — — £3 Gross 1,000 350 100 50 Net 700 250 — — £4 Gross 1,300 500 100 50 Net 1,000 300 — — £5 Gross 1,600 600 150 50 Net 1,200 400 — — £10 Gross 3,250 1,200 250 100 Net 2,400 800 — — 1 Indicates less than £25 million. Notes:
- 1. Costs are rounded to the nearest £50 million and are at 2000–01 benefit rates
- 2. Costs do not include other benefits whose rates are linked to the rate of basic Retirement Pension
- 3. Gross costs are estimated by the Government Actuary's Department. Costs net of means-tested benefit savings have been estimated using the Policy Simulation Model
- 4. Net costs are not available for Scotland
§ Fiona MactaggartTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many pensioners in the last three financial years have switched from weekly cash payments to four-weekly automated credit transfer; and what assessment has been made of the amount that has been saved in administrative costs as a result; [120195]
(2) what was the average annual cost of administering the payment of retirement pension by cash to pensioners who receive their payment in cash on a weekly basis, in each of the last three years for which figures are available; [120193]
41W(3) what was the average annual cost of administering the payment of retirement pension by automated credit transfer to pensioners who receive their payment by ACT on a four-weekly basis, in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [120194]
§ Mr. RookerInformation is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
The estimated customer shift to four-weekly payments Year ending April: 1997 1998 1999 UK Pension Caseload1 9,545,508 9,412,145 9,478,168 Percentage paid by ACT 4 weekly 33 35 39 1 Figures exclude pensioners who are in receipt of Income Support and receive a combined payment, or receive payment abroad. Note:
Approximately 2.3 per cent. of pensioners receive payment by ACT 13 weekly or annually.
The information on administration costs and savings is not available to the detail required. Information on the total annual cost of administering the payment of Retirement Pension is collated but not split by method of payment.
For information, the total annual cost of administering Retirement Pension in the last three years currently available is:
£ million 1996–97 302 1997–98 312 1998–99 314