§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many reassessments have been requested in each of the last five years for which figures are available to pension entitlement on the basis of(a) pensions forecasts provided on request and (b) pension forecasts sent out automatically prior to retirement; and what proportion of those receiving forecasts this represents. [99956]
603W
§ Mr. McCartneyThe information is not available in the form requested.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional information is made available to individuals requesting a pension forecast more than six months before reaching pensionable age compared with those who receive the standard notification, About your Retirement Pension prior to retirement. [99960]
§ Mr. McCartneyThere are two different notices available for issue to individuals regarding their retirement pension. One notice is issued automatically four months before retirement to advise people of their likely pension entitlement. The second notice is issued on request to people of working age to help inform their pension planning.
A letter entitled "About your Retirement Pension" is issued approximately four months prior to the customer attaining pension age. This contains provisional rates of the customer's individual pension components based on the National Insurance contribution information available at that time. The annual process required to collect National Insurance contributions and post them to the National Insurance Recording System means that in a number of cases details covering the final income tax year are not available when the provisional rates are issued. Where an Occupational Pension is involved, details are required from the employer or pension provider before the Additional Pension component can be calculated. There are occasions when this information is not available when the provisional rates are issued.
The second notification—the Retirement Pension Forecast for people of working age—gives a full breakdown of qualifying years for basic pension. It explains how to achieve the maximum state pension by paying voluntary contributions/arrears in the last six years if necessary, including a break down of Additional Pension and Contracted Out Deductions amounts and information on how it has been worked out. Where appropriate, it informs the customer of occasions where Home Responsibilities Protection has been applied. Further, in divorced and widowed cases, the forecast shows where a spouse's contributions have been used to calculate an individual's likely state pension. All the information used is exact information on state pension at "today's" rates based on current national insurance record(s) at the time the forecast is provided.
In addition, the forecast of expected state pension at retirement age is provided. This is a projection based on the same, current record(s), which assumes that contributions will continue at the same level. Further information is supplied in the BR19L leaflet that is sent out with the forecast, it provides the customer all the extra information they need to decide on the best way to achieve the best Pension available to them.
The purpose of providing the calculation at "today's" rates and at retirement age is to provide information to individuals to help inform their pension planning and enable them to make informed choices with regard to their retirement income levels.