§ 65. Sir A. Southbyasked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to cases of civil servants desirous of entering the voluntary pensions scheme, whose basic salaries are below the qualifying limit of income but who have been compelled to work overtime, the payment for which has temporarily raised their remuneration beyond the limit figure and thereby caused them to be refused admission into the voluntary scheme; and whether, in view of the hardship thus caused, he will consider the possibility of the basic salary only being taken into account when calculating the income of an applicant for entry into the new voluntary insurance scheme?
§ Mr. ElliotI am afraid that I am unable to adopt the suggestion of my hon. and gallant Friend. Income for the purposes of the Act is required by statutory regulations to be computed in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Acts. It would add appreciably to the difficulties of administration if certain items which are included for Income Tax purposes were excluded for the purposes of the scheme. In any event, exceptional treatment on these lines could not be limited to a particular class of applicants. I would point out that failure to satisfy the income test for the standard year does not necessarily involve the rejection of the application. An alternative test on the basis of the average income over the three years ending with the standard year is in certain circumstances available, and in every case the year following the standard year can be selected.
§ Sir A. SouthbyIs my right hon. Friend aware that many individuals for whom this voluntary scheme was specifically designed are being debarred from entering the scheme by reason of this temporary employment?
§ Mr. ElliotI am afraid that that is so; there always will be some hard cases.