Legislation – The State Pension Credit (Coronavirus) (Electronic Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1968) (“the Claims and Payments Regulations”) to allow electronic claims to be made for State Pension Credit. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak in Great Britain, an online digital platform has been developed to provide claimants with an additional route for claiming and to ease the operational impacts of the pandemic.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 4ZC of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 9ZC to, the Claims and Payments Regulations to permit the use of an electronic communication in connection with a claim for State Pension Credit. The use of an electronic communication by claimants must be in accordance with a direction of the Secretary of State. The direction will be deposited in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and will be available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-social-security-electronic-communications-directions.

Hard copies can be obtained by writing to the Legislation Team, the Department for Work and Pensions, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NA.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors is foreseen.