Tag: Baroness Altmann

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many letters they have written to (1) women, and (2) men, to inform them of changes to their state pension age; of those letters sent out, how many were returned undelivered; and when letters were returned undelivered, what efforts they then made to contact those individuals.

Lord Freud

Between April 2009 and March 2011, the Department mailed all women born between 6th April 1950 and 5th April 1953, informing them of their State Pension age under the 1995 Pensions Act. This involved sending 1.16 million letters to the affected females.

Following the 2011 changes DWP wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their State Pension age. This applied to women born between 6th April 1953 and the 5th of April 1960 and men born between 6^th December 1953 and 5^th April 1960. These letters were sent between January 2012 and November 2013. This involved sending 5.77 million letters to the affected males and females.

We do not have the total number of letters returned undelivered over the course of all the exercises. However, I can confirm we have a robust process in place to review all incorrect address returns and properly scrutinise and update customer account details when an address is confirmed. For State Pension customers, this process includes re-establishing contact through Local Authority Social Services or a DWP Visiting Officer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have conducted into changes in the aggregate funding levels of UK defined benefit pension schemes over the past two years for (1) FTSE 100 companies, (2) FTSE 350 companies, and (3) small firms and charities, on (a) a technical provisions basis, and (b) a section 179 basis.

Lord Freud

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) regularly publish information on Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes’ funding levels. In addition, a number of other organisations also produce analysis of the impacts of DB pensions using a variety of measures. Over the past two years we have been using this information to closely monitor changes in the aggregate funding levels of UK DB pension schemes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimates they have made of the number of women who were unaware in (1) 2011, (2) 2012 and (3) 2013, that the Pensions Act 1995 had changed their state pension age from 60.

Lord Freud

The Department does not hold a specific estimate on the number of women that are unaware of their state pension age. We wrote to all women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 between April 2009 and March 2011 using the addresses held by HMRC at the time.

In 2004, a DWP survey found that 73 per cent of people aged 45 to 54 (so aged 57 to 66 in 2016) were aware of the future increase in Women’s State Pension age. In 2006, 86 per cent of women aged 55-64 (so aged 65 to 74 in 2016) and 90 per cent aged 45-54 (so aged 55 to 64 in 2016) were aware that the State Pension age will increase in future. In 2012, a similar survey found that only 6% of respondents thought their State Pension Age was 60.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in the UK were victims of pension scams in (1) 2014, (2) 2015, and (3) 2016 to date.

Lord Freud

The Government takes the threat posed by scams very seriously and recognises that these can be complex and multifaceted, often spanning departmental and agency boundaries. It is for this reason that the Government established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency group of officials to help co-ordinate action to tackle scams, monitor trends and share intelligence on emerging threats. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.

Those scams which are reported, including Pension Liberation reports, are collected and collated by the National Fraud Reporting Centre (Action Fraud), within the City of London Police, which was established in 2013. However, the true extent of pension scams in the UK is unknown because many go un-reported.

The data on the number of reported scams will include those which have been reported over the past three years by individuals, pension providers, the Pensions Regulator or other agencies but, on which, Action Fraud has not yet received any feedback from the investigating police force, for example, a report on whether suspects have been charged or summonsed. This delay is due to the complexity of pension fraud investigations which can take several years to investigate. Action Fraud would not know the outcome until the end of the court case. Frequently, numerous fraud reports will relate to a single suspect.

The data on the number of reported scams also includes reports where organisations have taken action to prevent that fraud. Outcome feedback would only be received in respect of these reports if the Police became involved.

We expect the number of charges and summons to increase as outcome feedback from investigating police forces for pre 2014 reports is received and collated. The available data is provided in the table below:

Year	No. of Action Fraud Reports	Suspect charged / summonsed
2014	911	1
2015	807	6
2016 (to date)	290	0
Total:	2,008	7

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why cold calls regarding mortgages can be banned but not cold calls offering free pension reviews or unregulated pension investments.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) prohibition on cold calling applies to financial promotion of mortgages by FCA regulated firms. Under the FCA rules, regulated entities (including mortgage providers) are not allowed to engage in real-time financial promotion of mortgages and therefore no legitimate market for telephone promotion and sales exists.

The Government tightened controls on cold calling earlier this year, when amending the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), making it a requirement for organisations making direct marketing calls to display their Calling Line Identification (CLI). These controls need time to bed in before considering whether further changes, specific to pensions, are appropriate. If there is a case for change, the Government will take the necessary action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pension scams were (1) reported, and (2) stopped by official action, in each year from 2010 to 2016.

Lord Freud

The Government takes the threat posed by scams very seriously and recognises that these can be complex and multifaceted, often spanning departmental and agency boundaries. It is for this reason that the Government established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency group of officials to help co-ordinate action to tackle scams, monitor trends and share intelligence on emerging threats. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.

Those scams which are reported, including Pension Liberation reports, are collected and collated by the National Fraud Reporting Centre (Action Fraud), within the City of London Police, which was established in 2013. However, the true extent of pension scams in the UK is unknown because many go un-reported.

The data on the number of reported scams will include those which have been reported over the past three years by individuals, pension providers, the Pensions Regulator or other agencies but, on which, Action Fraud has not yet received any feedback from the investigating police force, for example, a report on whether suspects have been charged or summonsed. This delay is due to the complexity of pension fraud investigations which can take several years to investigate. Action Fraud would not know the outcome until the end of the court case. Frequently, numerous fraud reports will relate to a single suspect.

The data on the number of reported scams also includes reports where organisations have taken action to prevent that fraud. Outcome feedback would only be received in respect of these reports if the Police became involved.

We expect the number of charges and summons to increase as outcome feedback from investigating police forces for pre 2014 reports is received and collated. The available data is provided in the table below:

Year	No. of Action Fraud Reports	Suspect charged / summonsed
2014	911	1
2015	807	6
2016 (to date)	290	0
Total:	2,008	7

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of pension scams in the UK that (1) originate overseas, and (2) are initiated by UK-based firms.

Lord Freud

The Government has not made an estimate of the geographic origin of pension scams. Scams are often complex in nature and those reported to Action Fraud as taking place in the UK may have originated elsewhere.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are planning to take to prevent cold calling for pension scams.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

My Department is in conversations with Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions on how best we tackle nuisance calls and the scams associated with them, which is a priority for the Government.

We are exploring several measures that will help strengthen the Information Commissioner’s enforcement powers against those organisations that continue to breach the direct marketing rules. Specific measures under consideration are; extending the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls and exploring the options for enabling the Information Commissioner to hold company directors to account for breaches of the direct marketing rules.

The Government will continue to work closely with the City of London Police (CoLP), the national lead force for fraud, to help local forces and partners deliver protective advice to the public on fraud, including phone scams. CoLP operates Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, to ensure that the public has the information they need to protect themselves from telephone fraud. Action Fraud, for example, places an alert on its website when a serious threat or new type of fraud is identified – which members of the public can sign up to receive by email.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) women, and (2) men, are working but do not receive any credit towards their National Insurance state pension each year, due to being in one or more jobs that pay less than the lower earnings limit.

Lord Freud

DWP analysis suggests that at any one time around 10,000 men and 40,000 women have multiple jobs below the lower earnings limit (LEL) with combined earnings above it, but are not receiving any qualifying years towards the State Pension on those earnings.

DWP analysis estimates that of the women with multiple jobs below the LEL but total earnings above it, around 30% are getting a childcare credit for their State Pension. Others in this group may also be receiving credits through another route or be paying voluntary national insurance contributions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the risk of pension fraud and scams, what are their reasons for not banning cold calling about pensions.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

We are determined to tackle the scourge of nuisance calls especially those of a fraudulent nature. Our efforts are focused on taking action against companies that are deliberating break the rules, rather than penalising legitimate businesses who comply with the law.

My Department is in conversations with Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions on how best we tackle scams as a result of pensions cold calls.