Impact Assessments
Improved Pension Credit application process (disability) – July 2006
The objective is to improve the Pension Credit application process as part of the Pensions Transformation Programme (PTP).
The Main Activities:
- Information from other sources will be used to pre-populate customers’ applications to Pension Credit, and combined claims to State Pension and Pension Credit can be taken in one telephone call.
- Customer spoken language needs will be identified and recorded for future contact with customer.
- Through improved training, on-line guidance and scripts, customers will experience an improved service around the identification and response to their spoken language needs.
- Letters output to support the Pension Credit application have been redesigned to be more customer friendly.
- An improved service for customer representatives.
- Customers’ ethnicity will be asked for on claiming State Pension and/or Pension Credit.
- To eliminate the need for customers to sign the claim form following an application to Pension Credit by telephone.
- To advise customers, when possible, of their provisional entitlement to Pension Credit at the end of the telephone call.
- The overall end-to-end clearance times for Pension Credit claims will be quicker.
- Customer additional communication needs will be asked for and kept on record for future contact with the customer.
- Automation of large print process and improved Braille service.
- Customers can be taken through a Pension Credit application immediately after a State Pension claim. The Pension Credit application will also contain the pro-active taking of Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit claim details. This will be issued to the customer for them to check before sending to their Local authority.
Evidence and Consultation
Changes were tested with various customer groups and the conclusion is that there will be no adverse or disproportionate impact. There will be a positive impact on customers with disabilities as once their needs have been taken they will no longer be asked this again and as such they will benefit from an improved customer experience. Large print for Pension Credit letters will be issued automatically once a need has been identified during the claim process.
PTP also consulted with customers and their representatives to gain customer insight into the design of the new application process through the Partnership Against Poverty forum, and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Policy and Strategy forum.
Impact
This screening stage of the Impact Assessment has identified that there is no direct or indirect adverse impact upon customers with disabilities and that there is no evidence of any disproportionate effect as a result of these changes. In addition opportunities to improve services for The Pension Service customers have been exploited and the changes support a long-term plan to take these improvements further.
Monitoring
The impact of these changes will be monitored through customer survey and mystery shopping, and results published through the annual report of The Pension Service.