§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate(a) the initial start-up cost and (b) the annual running cost of his Department's web-based retirement planner, as proposed in Simplicity, Security and Choice: Informed Choices for Working and Saving, page 28; if he will provide a breakdown of this cost to (i) pension providers and (ii) his Department; and if he will make a statement. [166232]
§ Malcolm WicksWe anticipate that the costs of establishing and running the web-based retirement planner are likely to be less than £10 million set-up costs and less than £5 million in annual running costs. However, these figures are high-level and indicative.
Expenditure on a new service cannot be incurred ahead of Her Majesty's consent to the Pensions Bill. Following Royal Assent we will be able to engage with suppliers and estimate the potential cost. The exact costs of the system will, therefore not be known until commercial arrangements have been completed.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the average cost per member to private pension schemes for providing personalised scheme-member information in order to facilitate his Department's proposed web-based retirement planner. [166233]
§ Malcolm WicksThis information is not available at the present time. Expenditure on a new service cannot be incurred ahead of Her Majesty's consent to the Pensions Bill and consent to that expenditure. Following Royal Assent we will be able to engage with suppliers and estimate the potential cost.
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§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department's proposed web-based retirement planner will be launched. [166245]
§ Malcolm WicksAs announced in February 2004 in Cm 6111, 'Simplicity, security and choice: Informed choices for working and saving', the web-based retirement planner will be launched in Spring 2006.