§ 15. Captain Pilkingtonasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will give the value, in terms of purchasing power, of the basic retirement pension each year since the beginning of the scheme.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterAs the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Captain PilkingtonWould my right hon. Friend at least say whether these figures make nonsense of Socialist propaganda and show that the Conservative Party has been a better friend to the old than the Socialist Party?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThe figures show that the lowest real value of the pension was in the year 1950–51.
§ Following are the figures:
| Date | standard rate of retirement pension | Equivalent purchasing value at September, 1957 prices(1) | ||
| s. | d. | s. | d. | |
| October, 1946 | 26 | 0 | 42 | 4 |
| October, 1947 | 26 | 0 | 41 | 9 |
| October, 1948 | 26 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| October, 1949 | 26 | 0 | 37 | 8 |
| October, 1950 | 26 | 0 | 36 | 9 |
| October, 1951 | 30 | 0 (2) | 37 | 11 |
| October, 1952 | 32 | 6 (3) | 38 | 5 |
| October, 1953 | 32 | 6 | 37 | 9 |
| October, 1954 | 32 | 6 | 36 | 9 |
| October, 1955 | 40 | 0 (4) | 42 | 11 |
| October, 1956 | 40 | 0 | 41 | 4 |
| NOTES: | ||||
| (1) On the basis of the Cost of Living Index for the period up to June, 1947, and the Retail Prices Index thereafter. | ||||
| (2) Applied only to retirement pensioners who had attained age 65 (60 for women) on 1st October, 1951, or who were aged 70 (65 for women). | ||||
| (3) The pension rate increased in September, 1952. | ||||
| (4) The pension rate was increased in April, 1955. |