§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the Government's pension policy will be reviewed to take account of the overestimation of contributions; and if he will make a statement. [68994]
§ Mr. McCartneyWe believe that the overall framework of pension policy is the right one. The Basic State Pension will remain the foundation of income in retirement: while Second pensions are being reformed to help more of tomorrow's pensioners build up better pensions. We have introduced Stakeholder Pensions which are a flexible, low charge product enabling many of those who could not previously do so, to save for their retirement. And, we have put in place the Pension Credit to make sure that it pays to have saved even modest amounts for retirement.
It is important that policy is informed by accurate statistics on pensions contributions. The review of statistics being led by the Office of National Statistics is intended to ensure that in developing our pensions policy we have access to the statistical information required.