Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate the Government has made of the additional cost to the public purse arising from additional (a) social security payments and (b) social care costs of people in receipt of annuity income reassigning that income to a third party in order to receive the value of that annuity as a lump sum.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From April 2016, the government will change the tax rules to allow people who are already receiving income from an annuity to assign that income to a third party, subject to agreement from their annuity provider. The proceeds of the assignment could then be taken directly or drawn down over a number of years, and would be taxed at their marginal rate, in the same way as those taking their pension after April 2015.
Details of how the costs of this measure have been calculated including the number of annuities that could be assigned can be found in the Budget 2015 Policy Costings document here:
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the figures in table 2.1 of Budget 2015 on a secondary market in annuities, for what reason income tax revenue is projected to fall by £130 million in 2018-19 and £120 million in 2019-20.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From April 2016, the government will change the tax rules to allow people who are already receiving income from an annuity to assign that income to a third party, subject to agreement from their annuity provider. The proceeds of the assignment could then be taken directly or drawn down over a number of years, and would be taxed at their marginal rate, in the same way as those taking their pension after April 2015.
Details of how the costs of this measure have been calculated including the number of annuities that could be assigned can be found in the Budget 2015 Policy Costings document here:
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the figures in table 2.1 of Budget 2015 on a secondary market in annuities, how many people receiving an annuity income will have to reassign that income to a third party and take the value as a lump sum in order to generate the projected additional revenues of £535 million in 2016-17 and £540 million in 2017-18.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From April 2016, the government will change the tax rules to allow people who are already receiving income from an annuity to assign that income to a third party, subject to agreement from their annuity provider. The proceeds of the assignment could then be taken directly or drawn down over a number of years, and would be taxed at their marginal rate, in the same way as those taking their pension after April 2015.
Details of how the costs of this measure have been calculated including the number of annuities that could be assigned can be found in the Budget 2015 Policy Costings document here:
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.164 of Budget 2014, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have taken their pension pots as a lump sum as a result of the decision to increase the small pot limit from £2,000 to £10,000 and the number of pensions that can be taken as small pot lump sums from two to three.
Answered by David Gauke
As a result of the changes to pensions announced at Budget 2014 for the 2014-15 tax year, it is estimated that over 400,000 individuals are able to withdraw their pension wealth more flexibly if they wish to do so.
This figure was presented in the associated Tax Information and Impact Note, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293844/TIIN_8070_8062_8202_8132_8133_increasing_pension_flexibility.pdf
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.57 of Budget 2014, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have cashed in their pension pots in a lump sum as a result of the decision to increase the upper limit for trivial commutation from £18,000 to £30,000.
Answered by David Gauke
As a result of the changes to pensions announced at Budget 2014 for the 2014-15 tax year, it is estimated that over 400,000 individuals are able to withdraw their pension wealth more flexibly if they wish to do so.
This figure was presented in the associated Tax Information and Impact Note, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293844/TIIN_8070_8062_8202_8132_8133_increasing_pension_flexibility.pdf
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.54 of Budget 2014, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have accessed flexible drawdown as a result of the decision to reduce the guaranteed income requirement from £20,000 to £12,000.
Answered by David Gauke
As a result of the changes to pensions announced at Budget 2014 for the 2014-15 tax year, it is estimated that over 400,000 individuals are able to withdraw their pension wealth more flexibly if they wish to do so.
This figure was presented in the associated Tax Information and Impact Note, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293844/TIIN_8070_8062_8202_8132_8133_increasing_pension_flexibility.pdf
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what qualifications are required of Pension Wise staff providing (a) telephone and (b) face-to-face advice.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.
HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.
At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what certificated training Pension Wise staff providing (a) telephone and (b) face-to-face advice will require prior to the launch of that scheme.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.
HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.
At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have been recruited to deliver the Pension Wise scheme; and what the salary bands are to which those staff have been appointed.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.
HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.
At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.
Asked by: Cathy Jamieson (Labour (Co-op) - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been spent on (a) advertising and (b) recruitment of staff to provide telephone and face-to-face contact for the Pension Wise service since the introduction of that service was announced.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.
HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.
At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.