Mr Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Gregory Campbell on 2014-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the pension entitlement is of people of pensionable age who served long sentences in prison.

Steve Webb

A persons entitlement to the contributory state pension is dependent on the National Insurance contributions they have paid or had credited to them over their working life (from the age of 16 upto the year before they reach State Pension age) which builds up Qualifying Years. This will also be the case for the new single tier pension, but with a requirement to have a minimum number of qualifying years.

A person who has served a long prison sentence during their working life is likely to have a below average entitlement to contributory state pension. However, Pension Credit is available where the person’s (and partner’s) income from all sources is inadequate.