Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of options for accessing defined contribution pension savings under the Pension Schemes Act (2015).

The Government is committed to ensuring that people have the support and information they need to make informed choices about their financial future. The Government ensures everyone has access to free impartial pension guidance through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).

The Stronger Nudge to pensions guidance regulations, which came into force on 1 June 2022, ensures no-one will be able to access their savings through pension freedoms without having received Pension Wise guidance or opted out of receiving it. As part of the application process, schemes offer to book a Pension Wise appointment for individuals, supporting them to access the right guidance at the right time. This is likely to be one of the reasons for 16% more Pension Wise appointments attended between July 2022 and March 2023 than in the same period in 2021/22.

The midlife MOT is supporting people in their 40s, 50s and 60s to plan their next career move and better prepare for later life by taking stock of their finances, skills and health. We are delivering this through three different channels, providing free online support; face to face to eligible Universal Credit claimants; and to employees via our private sector pilot.

The Department is currently reviewing responses to our recent ‘Helping savers understand their pension choices’ call for evidence around the support and information savers need when accessing their pensions. We will respond to this in due course.