LCP partner and former Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, has urged the government to be more open on whether pensioners are running out of cash amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The call for transparency follows a written parliamentary statement cast that doubt over the provisions being made to support those using a Post Office Card Account (POCA).

The statement, published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), showed that the DWP had contacted just 27,000 of the 900,000 pensioners and other benefit recipients who normally get cash in person via a POCA to discuss alternatives.

LCP argued that this could leave “large numbers” of vulnerable elderly people either short of cash, or using “more risky methods” to get cash, urging the DWP to provide greater clarification.

The DWP has suggested alternative options to those already contacted, including ‘contact free cash payments’ to be delivered via Royal Mail, with guaranteed next day delivery.

Within the statement, Pensions Minster Guy Opperman, said: “We launched a new service on 10 April through which we have contacted 27,000 citizens who have POcA accounts and we considered who may need support to access their benefit or state pension payment.

“The department has worked tirelessly to identify those older, vulnerable customers who urgently require help to access their payments.

“For those needing help, DWP visiting officers are able to discuss a number of options available to customers over the phone…this cash service adds to a range of measures we are using to support these individuals shielding at home."

Opperman added that the department had “worked closely” with the National Shiedling Service, which is contacting clinically vulnerable citizens who have been advised by NHS England to shield amid Covid-19.

However, LCP highlighted that the National Shielding Service had not published data on the information gathered on the specific issue of how people are accessing cash.

The firm added that it is not clear how far the DWP has researched how the “hundreds of thousands” of pensions who have not been contacted are managing, and whether they are able to access cash at all.

Webb, commented: “It is good that DWP has special schemes to help people obtain cash in these difficult times.

“But with nearly a million people normally getting pensions and benefits in cash via a Post Office, it is worrying that less than 30,000 have been contacted directly by the DWP to discuss alternatives.

“There must be a concern that some pensioners feel they have no choice but to break shielding rules in order to get cash from a post office, or that others are simply going without.

“DWP should publish data on how many pensioners have stopped collecting cash since the crisis began and set out a strategy for reaching them”.

In particular, the firm has asked the DWP to provide further details on both the volume of cash withdrawals, and how many pensioners have not withdrawn any cash since lockdown, and how much is sitting uncollected as a result.

It has also queried what criteria has been used to decide who of the 900,000 with POCAs is ‘vulnerable’.

Finally, the firm has also asked for clarification as to what the 27,000 represents, and whether it pertains to successful comments.

If so, it has queried how many further attempts at contact DWP have tried and failed to make, and what the strategy is for this group.

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