Thursday, 04 April 2013 10:45
Committee calls for better publicity regarding State Pension changes
The Work and Pensions Committee believes the Government is failing to explain its State Pension reforms to the public.
In January, pensions minister Steve Webb MP announced a £144 per week single-tier State Pension which will be brought in from April 2016.
In a statement today, Dame Anne Begg MP, chair of the committee, said the improvements were welcome but communication would be key to their success.
She said: "Individuals will be affected in different ways depending on a number of factors, including their age, and their previous pension and National Insurance contributions. There are already misconceptions about who stands to gain and who might lose.
"So it is vital that the Government decides on its high-level strategy for communicating the changes to the public by the time the finalised Bill comes before Parliament in the summer. This should include how the Internet will be used and what individualised information will be provided."
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The Committee also criticised the changes to the timetable. The changes were due to be implemented in April 2017 but were then brought forward to April 2016. This gives the committee minimal time to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny of the policies.
Dame Anne said: "This process is a vital mechanism in ensuring that significant reforms receive rigorous and effective scrutiny. I am disappointed that the Government has hampered us in carrying out this task, by giving us very little time to do it, due to the delays in its own timetable for publishing the proposals, and then making a major change to the policy at a very late stage. Such a cavalier attitude to the scrutiny role of select committees is unacceptable."
Tom McPhail, head of pensions at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "We are already getting phone calls from clients, asking for help in working out what they should do with regard to their pension planning as they don't know what they can expect from the state. The sooner the government can issue clear, individual statements to everyone, starting with those retiring in 2016 and 2017 the better."
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In January, pensions minister Steve Webb MP announced a £144 per week single-tier State Pension which will be brought in from April 2016.
In a statement today, Dame Anne Begg MP, chair of the committee, said the improvements were welcome but communication would be key to their success.
She said: "Individuals will be affected in different ways depending on a number of factors, including their age, and their previous pension and National Insurance contributions. There are already misconceptions about who stands to gain and who might lose.
"So it is vital that the Government decides on its high-level strategy for communicating the changes to the public by the time the finalised Bill comes before Parliament in the summer. This should include how the Internet will be used and what individualised information will be provided."
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The Committee also criticised the changes to the timetable. The changes were due to be implemented in April 2017 but were then brought forward to April 2016. This gives the committee minimal time to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny of the policies.
Dame Anne said: "This process is a vital mechanism in ensuring that significant reforms receive rigorous and effective scrutiny. I am disappointed that the Government has hampered us in carrying out this task, by giving us very little time to do it, due to the delays in its own timetable for publishing the proposals, and then making a major change to the policy at a very late stage. Such a cavalier attitude to the scrutiny role of select committees is unacceptable."
Tom McPhail, head of pensions at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "We are already getting phone calls from clients, asking for help in working out what they should do with regard to their pension planning as they don't know what they can expect from the state. The sooner the government can issue clear, individual statements to everyone, starting with those retiring in 2016 and 2017 the better."
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
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