Tag: Gregg McClymont

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the upper limit will be of the amount of state pension top-up people can buy.

Steve Webb

As announced in the Budget 2014, the maximum amount of additional State Pension that individuals can obtain under the State Pension top-up scheme (Class 3A) will be £25 per week. We intend to make details available shortly of the contribution rates by age for each £1 per week of additional pension.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received face to face guidance from the Pension Advisory Service in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb

The Pensions Advisory Service provides information and guidance over multiple distribution channels including by telephone, web chat, online and written enquiries and face to face via outreach activity. The outreach activity includes shows, forums and similar events. All guidance is tailored to the individuals’ personal circumstances.

The data for the last five years are set out in the table below:

Year	2009/2010	2010/2011	2011/2012	2012/2013	2013/2014
Helpline customers Includes calls, online enquiries, webchats and 1st party complaints	99,663	87,712	93,505	84,228	76,348 (as at 28th February)
Outreach work	6,457 people spoken to at TPAS events/presentations	7,577	3,786	1,091	1,400 estimate to date

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on the investment strategy of the National Employment Savings Trust.

Steve Webb

The investment strategy for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is the responsibility of the NEST Trustees who will consider, if in the best interests of their members, there needs to be any change in NEST’s investment approach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on opt-out rates of auto enrolment.

Steve Webb

The Budget announced that from April 2015, the tax rules for how people access their defined contribution pension savings will be simplified to allow individuals aged 55 or over to withdraw their savings however they wish, subject to their marginal rate of income tax.

Allowing individuals to exercise greater choice over how they access their retirement savings may mean that some people who would have previously chosen to opt out may no longer do so. This is more likely to have an effect on the choices of older workers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on retirement incomes from private and workplace pensions.

Steve Webb

The government believes people should be trusted to make their own choices about how to use their savings to fund their retirement. These measures fundamentally change the way that people can access their retirement savings, and therefore people are free to vary the mix of income and capital they hold in retirement.

Alongside these changes, the government is taking measures to ensure everyone approaching retirement is aware of the choices they have. Pension providers and schemes will be required, by April 2015, to offer all individuals retiring with a defined contribution pension pot free and impartial face-to-face guidance on their retirement choices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to prevent private sector companies providing incentives for their employees to switch from defined benefit to defined contribution pension arrangements.

Steve Webb

We already have powers in place to legislate to ban cash incentive transfers. The incentive exercises code of good practice was created in 2012, and set out seven key principles that pension providers and their advisers must adhere to if they wish to offer their members incentives, including ensuring that members are given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision.

A large number of providers and independent financial advisers have signed up to the code, delivering a prompt solution to address this issue. The Government would encourage all providers to comply with the code.

Following the Budget announcement HM Treasury are currently running a consultation, “Freedom of Choice in Pensions” where it is considering whether people with a defined benefit pension should be allowed to transfer their accrued benefits into a defined contribution scheme. The outcome of this consultation will inform our thinking on what additional action, if any, the Government should take to restrict or ban pension providers from offering incentives

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-04-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people made the maximum allowed contribution to an ISA in each of the last three years; and how many he estimates will do so in each of the next three years as a result of changes announced in the 2014 Budget.

Mr David Gauke

HM TREASURY

Gregg McClymont MP

CUMBERNAULD, KILSYTH AND KIRKINTILLOCH EAST

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people made the maximum allowed contribution to an ISA in each of the last three years; and how many he estimates will do so in each of the next three years as a result of changes announced in the 2014 Budget. 195422

DAVID GAUKE

In 2010-11, around 1.2 million individuals made full use of their (£10,200) ISA allowance. Figures for more recent years are not yet available.

As announced at Budget 2014, from 1 July 2014 the overall annual New ISA subscription limit will be increased to £15,000 and can be used for either cash or stocks and shares investments, or any combination of the two, up to this limit. Over 6 million people are expected to benefit from these increases, including over 5 million adults currently making full use of the cash ISA limit.

Estimates of the numbers of individuals expected to save at the new limit in each of the next three years are not available.