Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the number of Equitable Life policy holders who have still to be contacted before the Equitable Life Payment Scheme closes.

At 31 May 2015, payments have been issued to around 87 per cent of eligible Equitable Life policyholders. Approximately 13 per cent of policyholders are therefore currently untraced and unpaid. This is already below the National Audit Office’s 2003 prediction that 17-20 per cent would be left unpaid at the end of the Scheme.

The Scheme remains committed to tracing and paying as many eligible policyholders as it can before it closes. Strenuous efforts have been made to trace policyholders through advertising, electronic tracing methods, writing to last known addresses, and working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). As announced at Summer Budget, work is continuing with the DWP to trace unpaid policyholders due a payment of £50 or more, where sufficient details are held to enable the DWP tracing service to be used. This further tracing will be completed before the Scheme closes to new claims on 31 December 2015.