The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2020 raised the State Pension by 2.5% from April 2021, although CPI was 0.5% and earnings were negative. From April 2022, the state pension increased 3.1% in line with CPI. The full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be around £720 more in 2022/23 than if it had been up-rated by prices since 2010. That’s a rise of over £2,300 in cash terms. In addition there is widespread support through winter fuel payment, pension credit and other associated benefits. The Chancellor has also put forward on February 3rd 2022 a multi billion pound support package to address costs of living and energy bills.

Legislation requires all occupational defined benefit pension rights earned from April 1997 onwards to be increased annually in payment.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Higher education providers are autonomous and responsible for the pay and pension provision of their staff.

While the government has no direct role in the disputes, we have been clear that we want this disagreement resolved in a way that avoids further disrupting students’ learning. We strongly encourage a resolution that delivers good value for students, staff, and providers.

The Pensions Regulator is currently working with the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), Universities UK and a range of other stakeholders as they work to find a long-term solution to the funding challenges faced by the USS.

The USS is a private pension scheme. It has more than 450,000 members, and sizable assets and liabilities. USS is one of the largest private pension schemes in the country, with assets worth over £80 billion in December 2020.

The Office for Students (OfS) has wide-ranging powers to ensure students’ interests are protected, and they expect providers to do all they can to avoid disruption to students. The OfS has written to universities to make their expectations clear: universities must abide by the conditions of registration and ensure they meet obligations under consumer protection law in relation to the impact of industrial action.

We do not hold the information requested. Annual Allowance (AA) tax charges can be reported via Accounting for Tax (AfT) returns which are completed by the scheme administrator, and via Self-Assessment (SA). Neither AfT nor SA returns require information on the type of pension scheme that the charge relates to. In addition to this, the AA applies to an individual’s pension accrual across all pensions held, which could cover both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes.

However, HMRC publish data on the number and value of AA charges reported to us through AfT and SA, as well as the value of contributions exceeding the allowance. The AfT and SA columns are not mutually exclusive, the same case could appear in both columns. Individuals are required to report AA breaches through SA returns even if their scheme pays the charge and reports the breach through AfT returns. However, in practice individuals may be reported through AfT and not report themselves through SA, or vice versa, in error. The data for the last five available tax years is below:

The Government seeks to ensure sanctions measures are carefully targeted and avoid unintended consequences. Measures have been designed for the maximum impact on the Russian economy whilst protecting the financial stability and interests of the UK and its allies.

On 30 November 2021 the Government consulted on reforms to the charge cap as part of ‘Enabling investment in productive finance’ Enabling investment in productive finance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk. We will respond in the near future.

The NHS Pension Scheme requires participating employers to perform certain duties, including remittance of scheme contributions and providing information on employment and pension records. NHS England and NHS Improvement are the responsible employers for performing such duties in relation to general practitioner (GP) contractors, surgery based salaried GPs and freelance GP locums in England. In September 2015 Capita was contracted to provide a service administering these functions, which established PCSE to carry out these duties on its behalf. The Department has not made a specific assessment of its performance. NHS England and NHS Improvement have a monthly governance board in place to monitor and assure the delivery of PCSE’s service, which includes an assessment of quality and performance indicators.

No assessment has been made on the potential merits of moving the pensions administration service to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering the future requirements and configuration of the PCSE’s services ahead of potential procurement processes at the end of the current contract in 2025.

Whilst PCSE are reliant on GP practices submitting information promptly, there have been issues relating to the administration of GP pension records. The NHS Business Services Authority advise that there are currently 19,681 pension records in error, of which 7,127 refer to leaver information and 12,554 relate to a year-end update. These errors could relate to any employment on the member’s record and may not be related to their GP posts.

There are currently 34,662 GP pension records which have at least one GP post awaiting a 2020/21 year-end update. There are several reasons why year-end updates may not have been received, including GPs not having submitted their annual figures, PCSE being unable to process updates due to previous missing years or updates not submitted to the NHS Business Service Authority.

The NHS Pension Scheme requires participating employers to perform certain duties, including remittance of scheme contributions and providing information on employment and pension records. NHS England and NHS Improvement are the responsible employers for performing such duties in relation to general practitioner (GP) contractors, surgery based salaried GPs and freelance GP locums in England. In September 2015 Capita was contracted to provide a service administering these functions, which established PCSE to carry out these duties on its behalf. The Department has not made a specific assessment of its performance. NHS England and NHS Improvement have a monthly governance board in place to monitor and assure the delivery of PCSE’s service, which includes an assessment of quality and performance indicators.

No assessment has been made on the potential merits of moving the pensions administration service to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering the future requirements and configuration of the PCSE’s services ahead of potential procurement processes at the end of the current contract in 2025.

Whilst PCSE are reliant on GP practices submitting information promptly, there have been issues relating to the administration of GP pension records. The NHS Business Services Authority advise that there are currently 19,681 pension records in error, of which 7,127 refer to leaver information and 12,554 relate to a year-end update. These errors could relate to any employment on the member’s record and may not be related to their GP posts.

There are currently 34,662 GP pension records which have at least one GP post awaiting a 2020/21 year-end update. There are several reasons why year-end updates may not have been received, including GPs not having submitted their annual figures, PCSE being unable to process updates due to previous missing years or updates not submitted to the NHS Business Service Authority.

The NHS Pension Scheme requires participating employers to perform certain duties, including remittance of scheme contributions and providing information on employment and pension records. NHS England and NHS Improvement are the responsible employers for performing such duties in relation to general practitioner (GP) contractors, surgery based salaried GPs and freelance GP locums in England. In September 2015 Capita was contracted to provide a service administering these functions, which established PCSE to carry out these duties on its behalf. The Department has not made a specific assessment of its performance. NHS England and NHS Improvement have a monthly governance board in place to monitor and assure the delivery of PCSE’s service, which includes an assessment of quality and performance indicators.

No assessment has been made on the potential merits of moving the pensions administration service to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering the future requirements and configuration of the PCSE’s services ahead of potential procurement processes at the end of the current contract in 2025.

Whilst PCSE are reliant on GP practices submitting information promptly, there have been issues relating to the administration of GP pension records. The NHS Business Services Authority advise that there are currently 19,681 pension records in error, of which 7,127 refer to leaver information and 12,554 relate to a year-end update. These errors could relate to any employment on the member’s record and may not be related to their GP posts.

There are currently 34,662 GP pension records which have at least one GP post awaiting a 2020/21 year-end update. There are several reasons why year-end updates may not have been received, including GPs not having submitted their annual figures, PCSE being unable to process updates due to previous missing years or updates not submitted to the NHS Business Service Authority.

The charge cap has been and continues to be successful in achieving its objective to protect members from poor value for money charges. In 2020, I committed to the continued existence of the charge cap.

At the same time, I am determined to make it easier for pension schemes to invest in illiquid assets and get better outcomes for savers. The Pension Charges Survey 2020 showed that two thirds of defined contribution schemes had zero direct investments in illiquid assets – which include infrastructure and green energy projects and venture capital investments which have the potential to achieve long-term benefits to savers. The survey also highlighted that when it came to diversifying the investment portfolio the performance fees that often form part of many of the opportunities within illiquid asset classes were seen as one of the barriers.

In November 2021, I launched a consultation entitled ‘Enabling investment in productive finance’ to explore whether the removal of well-designed performance fees from the regulatory charge cap would improve member outcomes in the long-term by making it easier to pay such fees when investing in illiquid assets. A fundamental part of this is also ensuring trustees can exercise their fiduciary duty and protect members from high and unfair charges. There is no compulsion to pay performance fees but if trustees believe that there is an opportunity to improve member outcomes, we do not want to hold them back from seizing this.

We received 54 responses to the consultation from pension schemes, asset managers, consumer rights groups and others on the impact our proposal would have on member protection and in helping to deliver better outcomes for pension savers. This included evidence of the impact any changes would have.

We aim to publish a summary of the input and the views we received, as well as the Government’s proposed next steps in the coming weeks as part of a wider set of proposals and reform that the Government plans to bring forward to help pension scheme trustees access as wide a range of assets as possible.

The charge cap has been and continues to be successful in achieving its objective to protect members from poor value for money charges. In 2020, I committed to the continued existence of the charge cap.

At the same time, I am determined to make it easier for pension schemes to invest in illiquid assets and get better outcomes for savers. The Pension Charges Survey 2020 showed that two thirds of defined contribution schemes had zero direct investments in illiquid assets – which include infrastructure and green energy projects and venture capital investments which have the potential to achieve long-term benefits to savers. The survey also highlighted that when it came to diversifying the investment portfolio the performance fees that often form part of many of the opportunities within illiquid asset classes were seen as one of the barriers.

In November 2021, I launched a consultation entitled ‘Enabling investment in productive finance’ to explore whether the removal of well-designed performance fees from the regulatory charge cap would improve member outcomes in the long-term by making it easier to pay such fees when investing in illiquid assets. A fundamental part of this is also ensuring trustees can exercise their fiduciary duty and protect members from high and unfair charges. There is no compulsion to pay performance fees but if trustees believe that there is an opportunity to improve member outcomes, we do not want to hold them back from seizing this.

We received 54 responses to the consultation from pension schemes, asset managers, consumer rights groups and others on the impact our proposal would have on member protection and in helping to deliver better outcomes for pension savers. This included evidence of the impact any changes would have.

We aim to publish a summary of the input and the views we received, as well as the Government’s proposed next steps in the coming weeks as part of a wider set of proposals and reform that the Government plans to bring forward to help pension scheme trustees access as wide a range of assets as possible.

The easement which could potentially have an associated cost is the abatement of pensions, where the value of the pension plus earnings on returning to work does not exceed earnings before the pension was taken. The vast majority of staff are not subject to abatement after taking their pension, which applies to ‘special class’ staff with the right to take an unreduced pension at 55 years old, who return to work between the ages of 55 and 60 years old. In general, this staff group reduce their working hours or do not return to employment in order to avoid their pension being abated, therefore these easements increase the amount of work they are able to offer with little to no cost to the Exchequer.

The easement which could potentially have an associated cost is the abatement of pensions, where the value of the pension plus earnings on returning to work does not exceed earnings before the pension was taken. The vast majority of staff are not subject to abatement after taking their pension, which applies to ‘special class’ staff with the right to take an unreduced pension at 55 years old, who return to work between the ages of 55 and 60 years old. In general, this staff group reduce their working hours or do not return to employment in order to avoid their pension being abated, therefore these easements increase the amount of work they are able to offer with little to no cost to the Exchequer.

Next week, staff at Glasgow University will be among 50,000 across the UK striking in protest at the 35% cut to their guaranteed pensions. It is in the interests of both students and staff that a negotiated settlement can be reached as soon as possible. What discussion are Ministers having with university employers to encourage them to engage in meaningful dialogue with staff and trade unions?

I and the rest of the Government continue to encourage a meaningful dialogue, because, at the end of the day, those missing out are students, who have suffered unbelievably during the pandemic and faced challenges. The last thing they need is strikes and further disruption to their face-to-face education.

Since an individual may choose to reduce their working hours or take early retirement for a range of reasons it is not possible to isolate the impact of any single factor such as pension tax. We continue to monitor retirement patterns and hours worked by senior doctors.

The available evidence does not suggest any substantial change in consultant working hours. NHS Digital’s workforce statistics show the participation rate or average contracted hours per person has been stable for several years. Data from the NHS Business Services Authority, which administers the NHS Pension Scheme, shows that the number of consultants taking voluntary early retirement as a proportion of all consultant retirements has increased since 2012, although it has not changed significantly in more recent years.

The NHS Pension Scheme and well-remunerated careers mean that some senior doctors will amass a pension in excess of their allowances for tax-free pension saving. In 2020, the Government increased thresholds by £90,000 to remove all staff with threshold income below £200,000 from scope of the tapered annual allowance. An estimated 96% of general practitioners and 98% of consultants are out of scope of the taper based on their National Health Service earnings.