To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many errors were made in the payment of retirement pensions in the last 12 months; and in how many of those cases it was not possible to give an explanation of the error to the pensioner concerned. (180986)

Results from the most recent full year (2006-07) show that The Pension Service achieved 96.76 per cent. accuracy (excluding errors of less than £1.50 per week).

When amending a State Pension payment The Pension Service’s standard practice is to issue a letter advising the customer that a new amount of benefit is due and when this change is due to take effect. Customers are also advised to contact The Pension Service if they have any questions about their benefit.