Clause 3 - Savings credit
State Pension Credit Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Ms Maria Eagle (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Minister for Disabled People), Department for Work and Pensions; Liverpool, Garston, Labour)
It is for both.
Mr. Webb: It would be helpful to know, not necessarily immediately, the breakdown of that £200 million. I am thinking of the 300,000 people who are women aged between 60 and 64, who will have heard the Secretary of State, who think that they will be rewarded but who will be disappointed. Perhaps she can clarify how many of those 300,000 are women who fall into that category. That would help us to assess how important the amendment is. If most of those people are women who think that they are getting something when they are not, that would add weight to the argument; if only a few of them are, the argument would be much weaker.
The Department is fond of emphasising that many people stop work well before 65. Many men between the ages of 60 and 64, who are not earning or well off, may have saved, but they will get no reward. Many people retire early, stop work due to ill health or whatever, and we must support them and encourage them to save.