To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates are eligible to receive pension credit, broken down by region. [1245:2]
The information is in the table.
| Region | Pensioner households entitled to pension credit |
| North East | 250,000 |
| North West and Merseyside | 500,000 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 350,000 |
| East Midlands | 300,000 |
| West Midlands | 350,000 |
| Eastern | 300,000 |
| London | 450,000 |
| South East | 350,000 |
| South West | 300,000 |
| Wales | 250,000 |
| Scotland | 400,000 |
| Total (GB) | 3,800,000 |
Notes:
Estimates are done on a benefit unit basis (sigle pensioner or persioner couple).
Figures include care home cases.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 50,000.
Source:
Policy simulation modal 2003–04, based on data from the Family Resources Survey 2000–01
To ask the Secretary of State f or Work and Pensions how many pensioners he estimal es will be the subject of means-testing when the pension credit is introduced in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire. [121710]
Estimates of pension credit entitlement are not available at an individual constituency or county level due to insufficient sample cases in the survey data used. However, around half of all pensioner households across Great Britain will be eligible for pension credit. They stand to gain, on average, £400 a year.Pension credit, unlike the means tested benefits of the past, is simple to apply for, involving a straightforward phone call. Once awarded the majority of pensioners, aged 65 and over, will not have to notify changes in their financial circumstances for a period of five years. Pension credit rewards, not penalises saving, ensuri rig that those who have worked hard to save modest amounts gain from having done so. By ignoring any income from savings below £6,000, 85 per cent. of pensioners getting pension credit will see any income they receive from their savings ignored completely.Nationally around 1.8 million minimum income guarantee (MIG) claims will be automatically transferred to pension credit. As at February 2003 there were 2,600 people receiving MIG in the parliamentary constituency of Shrewsbury and Atcham and 8,100 in Shropshire county.
Source
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, February 2003.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of working age (a) adults, (b) men and (c) women in each region of the UK are contributing to (i) occupational and (ii) personal pensions. [123937]
The information for regions of Great Britain is in the table.
| Percentage of working age people contributing to occupational pensions by Government office region and gender, 2001–02, Great Britain | |||
| Cell percentage | |||
| Male | Female | Adults | |
| North East | 36 | 28 | 33 |
| North West | 32 | 31 | 32 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 29 | 32 | 31 |
| East Midlands | 31 | 26 | 28 |
| West Midlands | 33 | 31 | 32 |
| Eastern | 37 | 31 | 34 |
| London | 31 | 29 | 30 |
| South East | 37 | 33 | 35 |
| South West | 34 | 31 | 33 |
| Wales | 31 | 32 | 31 |
| Scotland | 34 | 35 | 35 |
Source:
Family Resources Survey 2001–02.
Percentage of working age people contributing to personal pensions by Government office region and gender, 2001–02, Great Britain
| |||
Cell percentage
| |||
Male
| Female
| Adults
| |
| North East | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| North West | 13 | 7 | 10 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 16 | 6 | 11 |
| East Midlands | 17 | 8 | 13 |
| West Midlands | 17 | 8 | 13 |
| Eastern | 21 | 10 | 16 |
| London | 15 | 8 | 12 |
| South East | 19 | 9 | 15 |
| South West | 20 | 11 | 16 |
| Wales | 12 | 5 | 9 |
| Scotland | 15 | 7 | 11 |
Notes:
1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). 2001–02 is the latest year for which data are available. The coverage of the Survey is Great Britain.
2. Stakeholder pensions are included as personal pensions in the estimates.
3. Working age has been defined as 16–59 for women and 16–64 for men.
4. Some individuals may contribute to both an occupational and a personal pension scheme.
Source:
Family Resources Survey 2001–02