Money Matters Meeting
Caxton House 6 July 2015
Attending:
Barry WilfordEast Midlands Later Life Forum (Chair)
John BakerDWP
Gilly CrosbyCentre for Policy on Ageing
Jenny BorrittCommunications Consumer Panel
Elcena Jeffers MBE Elcena Jeffers Foundation (EJF)
John WelhamFuture Years (Y&H Forum on Ageing)
Jenni BucklandAdvant-age
Sally WestAge UK
Faye MoutzouriEquity Release Council
Rebecca Langford Money Advice Service
Nat LievesleyCentre for Policy on Ageing
Andy ChaplinFoundations
Douglas StemFoundations
Ian PriceDWP National Partnerships Team
Sharon MooreHanover Housing
John CotcherPlanned Retirement Association of Greater Manchester
Simon Wilkinson DWP
Keith RobertsDWP
Apologies:
Caroline JacksonPartnership
Tony Crane Just Retirement
Phil FreemanAlzheimer’s Society
Gilly CrosbyCentre for Policy on Ageing
1. Welcome
Barry welcomed everyone to the meetingand those present introduced themselves.
2. Pension Credit – what’s been done already to try to encourage take up: Keith Roberts (DWP)
Pension Credit take-up statistics were published on 25th June for the first time in 3 years.
Although a new methodology was used, it replicated statistics for the last set of data published in 2009/10. They showed that take-up has remained broadly constant over the period 2009/10 to 2013/14. However, a third of people are potentially missing out on Pension Credit and this could make a real difference for some and take them above the poverty line.
All Pensions Ministers have been clear that pensioners should access the support available to them.
Before the recession, significant resource was invested in activity to encourage and boost take-up.Activity was co-ordinated using extensive analysis, which included:
- high profile marketing campaigns
- closer working with partners
- home visits
- improved benefit processing of State Pension, Pension Credit & Housing Benefit
- data sharing
Despite all efforts and the various types of activity, take-up remained broadly constant. A radical approach was then deployed called ‘Automaticity Pilot’, which involved paying people what our analysis indicated they may be entitled to for 12 weeks without a claim being made. However using this approach only achieved a take up of 8.6%.The cost of this activity was high and the level of this investment was not sustainable.
Post-recession, resources available for marketing were scaled back, and in response to this, a Pension Credit tool kit was developed. It provides information on Pension Credit and practical support for people working with pensioners to encourage take-up.
Take-up remains an important issue and the Minister for Pensions, Ros AltmannMinister has said:
“Older people who have worked hard all their lives, and contributed to our society and economy over many decades, deserve to be looked after in their retirement. We want pensioners who meet the criteria for Pension Credit to claim that money to help them live more comfortable lives”
Many members of the group were keen to promote the message of take-up on websites, in their newsletters or at conferences.
It was suggested by the group that an infographic would be a useful way to broadcast take-up in our respective organisations and communities.
The group also thought it would be useful to see analysis of take-up at regional and/or Local Authority level in order that those areas with low take-up might be targeted, as well as share best practices from the better performing regions.
Simon Wilkinson thought that there would be interest in Pension Credit benefit take-up from other Age Action Alliance members, and that the opportunity of, for example, holding a workshopto examine what members might do collaboratively, might be favourably received.
This suggestion was well received by the group and Simon suggested that once the aims and objectives of such a workshop were established the wider Alliance membership could be contacted via the Weekly Members’ News in order to gauge interest.
Action Point 1:John to circulateKeith’s slides (attached to these notes)
Action Point 2: John to provide a link to the Pension Credit toolkit:
Action Point 3: Keith to provide data on the take-up release including the average amount unclaimed
Action Point 4: Keith to confirm whethertake-up stats can be broken down locally, and if so to share with group.
Action Point 5: Keith to provideinformation on the Automaticity Pilot
Action Point 6: John and Simon to consider aims and objectives of a Pension Credit workshop / conference, to be shared with group
3. Money Advice Service’s Financial Capability Strategy update: Rebecca Langford
Money Advice Service (MAS) is continuing to work with partners to develop the UK Financial Capability Strategy. The Final Strategy will be published in the autumn and will have a 10 year life span. At the previous meeting Rebecca Langfordhad outlined the issues facing older people being financially capable. The Strategy Team is now thinking about what the Strategy should aim to achieve for older people.
The aim is currently in development, and subject to change, is that the Strategy should seek to empower people who have retired and are drawing a pension to make the most of their income, savings and assets. To achieve thisthe Strategy would need to do 4 things:
- Develop the evidence base further so we understand more about spending in retirement and how financial capability declines in older people
- Based on evidence, develop consistent messages about managing money and use trusted messengers to reach older people with them
- Improve access to money management tools that reflect the realities of life in retirement
- Improve the accessibility of products and services.
Underpinning these will be the cross-strategy themes of:
- Evidence and evaluation: encouraging funders and commissioners to fund either innovative pilot projects or projects that have been proven to work.
- Collaboration: the sector working together to achieve a greater impact. Filling gaps and avoiding duplication.
The Strategy Team are currently looking at what initiatives are happening in each of these areas and identifying gaps that the Strategy can fill. They are speaking with organisations across the sector about working together to fill them. This will include considering what the Age Action Alliance might do, and in view of the previous agenda item might be something around benefits take-up?
MAS will be hosting a small workshop to help develop an action plan that will be published alongside the Strategy when it launches. Following this, it will set up an action group to own the Older People Strategy over its 10 year lifespan, the action group will report into the Financial Capability Board. It is envisaged that the action group will be a small group, Rebecca will consider how the Age Action Alliance can be represented in the group.
4. Scams: John Baker (DWP)
The secretariat for the Money Matters Group has produced a factsheet summarising various scams andsignposting to other guidance available This is available to view on the Age Action Alliance website:
John wanted ideas from the group as to how we could take this topic forward. His initial thought was an infographic to increase awareness with a visual supported by key facts.
Following discussion, it was agreed that a short hard-copy leaflet, similar in style to the Money Advice leaflet the group produced, was the next step. (It was thought that about £200 to £300 would cover costs).
Action Point 7: Barry to liaise with his graphic designer
Action Point 8: Once the infographic has been produced, Simon Wilkinson to put out a call to Age Action Alliance members for funding support.
5. Community Finance Centre: John Cotcher (Planned Retirement Association of Greater Manchester)
Planning for retirement is difficult for everyone and there are a significant number of adults who are unfamiliar with even basic financial concepts such as interest, inflation and risk.
For some with good careers and good jobs, advice is provided by their employer regarding their retirement options, howevereven these opportunities are declining. For many, help and advice is not readily available.John Cotcher then explained to the group his plans as to how this might be addressed.
Advice could be provided by a new Community Finance Centre to be based initially in Manchester; if successful this could be replicated elsewhere.Aimed at those retiring on low wages and with small pension pots,expert advice would be free,independent and confidential. A centre would operate on a not-for-profit basis.
Finance for setting up the Centre is the immediate priority.To date plans for the Centre have received considerable support but, as yet, no hard offers of funding. Suggestion from the group for funding includedthe Esme Fairburn Foundation, the Dulverton Trust, Barclays or TSB. It was also suggested to get Age Friendly Manchester involved in order to provide support.
There is the infrastructure in Manchester to test the idea but more resource is needed, and the next stepwould be to establish a Project Steering Group which would:
- clarify and define the overall aims for the project
- decide upon scope, aims and objectives, outcomes, costings, timescale, staffing, funding, supervision and management
- oversee the feasibility study
- decide whether the results merit further development and investment
John asked for the group’s support for the idea and welcomed suggestions as to how he might progress it, achieve funding, etc.
The group agreed the Community Finance Centre, wasan excellent idea, and Barry suggested the group could offer a letter of support to John, although some members acknowledged they would need to discuss this opportunity with their own organisation and would feed any further comments directly to John Cotcher.
Action Point 9: All to feed ideas to John Cotcher
Action Point 10:Barry Wilford and John Baker to draft a letter of support to John Cotcher and circulate to the Group for comment and agreement.
6. Roundtable updates
Andy Chaplin (Foundations): The Housing and Older People All Party Parliamentary Group meeting on 13 July includes a session on Deferred Payments which is being led substantially by input from chair of the Equity Release Council Standards Board,Chris Pond. If the group has a session on the Care Act then looking at how deferred payments will operate after April 2016 seems pretty central to a money discussion in the autumn.
John Baker: A presentation from the Department for Health about the Care Act / Care Cap is scheduled for the group’s next meeting.
7. AOB
Date of next Money Matters meeting: Monday 5th October 2015 12.00 – 2.00 pm at Caxton House, London.