Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department holds digital pension records for all pensioners.

The number of people claiming State Pension was 12.6 million at August 2019 with an estimated spend on State Pensions for 2018/19, at around £97 billion.

References: DWP benefits expenditure and caseload tables publication, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2019 and the August 2019 Statistical Enquiry, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-benefits-statistics-february-2020/dwp-benefits-statistical-summary-february-2020#pensions

The DWP holds the digital information necessary to support the payment and administration of State Pensions.