Tag: Baroness Altmann

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of employers using net-pay pension schemes that are unaware that their workers who earn less than £11,000 a year are unable to receive the tax relief they could receive in a relief-at-source scheme.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not therefore hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.

However, the Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to stop cold-callers who try to lure people into pension scams.

Baroness Shields

The Government takes the threat of pension scams very seriously. We are committed to protecting consumers from such scams, by raising awareness and pursuing scammers when these crimes occur.

The Government has established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency forum for officials to monitor trends, share intelligence on emerging threats, and help co-ordinate action to tackle scams. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.

We are also taking forward a range of legislative measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law. Recent actions include a measure in the Digital Economy Bill that will strengthen the ICO’s direct marketing guidance by giving it statutory status. We are also exploring proposals to extend the ICO’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls; and the options for enabling the ICO to hold company directors to account for breaches of the direct marketing rules.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of women who are in hardship as a result of the decision to change women’s state pension age.

Lord Freud

The welfare system provides a safety net for those of working age and there are a range of benefits tailored to individual circumstances. The system is designed to deal with the problems which affect those most in need and takes into account difficulty in finding work, disability and caring responsibilities. No figures are available as to why claimants apply for help to the benefits system.

Independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that the rise in women’s State Pension age since 2010 has been accompanied by increases in employment rates for the women affected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to offer relief to unincorporated employers who are at risk of personal bankruptcy as a result of significant increases in defined benefit pension deficits in Non-Associated Multi-Employer Schemes following the rise in annuity costs associated with the falls in long-term interest rates in recent years; and if so, what relief will be made available.

Lord Freud

We have recently consulted on problems faced by non-associated multi-employer schemes (NAMES) and had representations from various interested parties. We will be responding in due course.