MP's Call Pensionsers To Apply For New Pension Credit Scheme

12.00.00am GMT Wed 11th Feb 2004

Vincent Cable MP was the guest speaker at the borough's Older Persons Forum on Wednesday (at the Crossways Centre) and said that "half the borough's pensioners are entitled to the new 'Pension Credit' and should not hesitate to claim it."

Vincent Cable said that the Government's pension policy was based on means testing: "Because the state pension is not enough to live off, pensioners without decent occupational and private pensions are being forced to rely on benefit. The 'pension credit' is less intrusive than the old means test and pensioners should not be too proud to claim it - if, as is widely believed, a quarter of pensioners do not claim what they are entitled to - 2,500 people in my constituency of Twickenham - the money goes back to the Government, not to other pensioners."

Vincent Cable said that he was particularly concerned about pensioners with small savings who are near the savings limit for pension credit. He had raised in Parliament the fact that the benefit system assumes a 10% return on savings; "this is absurd and a big detriment to pensioners who try to save."

Vincent Cable also reported on his questioning of the Pensions Minister this week on the companies - like Parsons in Brentford and Globeground at Heathrow - who have closed their pension schemes and left employees with only a small fraction of their pensions. The Minister confirmed that over 50 schemes were closed last year in similar circumstances: "Significant numbers of local residents have lost a substantial part of their pensions in this way and until the Government introduces its Pension Protection Scheme in April 2005 a lot more will be affected."