Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase understanding of pensions and retirement planning amongst women.

Steve Webb

The Department is taking a range of steps to address understanding of pensions and retirement planning, including amongst women.

The DWP is working closely with the Money Advice Service (MAS), the government body with responsibility for improving the British public’s financial capability, including tackling the knowledge gaps which can inhibit individuals from saving into pensions.

The Department is facilitating joint-working between its information services and those of The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS), which is playing an important role in supporting individuals who are automatically enrolled, and MAS. The DWP will also support MAS in increasing its reach, including through contact channels with DWP customers.

As part of automatic enrolment, to encourage women to continue to save in a workplace pension we are running an awareness campaign with supporting information that emphasises the importance of saving for retirement and outlines the benefits of saving in a workplace pension. This reaches women via the use of appropriate media channels and by working in partnership with trusted brands.

We are creating a simpler state pension so that everybody can know both what counts towards their state pension and how much they can expect to receive. We will take account of the different ways in which men and women are affected by the reforms in our communications approach. Our strategy includes using partnerships with media outlets most likely to reach these women to make them aware of the changes. We will evaluate the impact of our communications to make sure we are reaching women to increase their awareness and understanding.