§ Mr. Spenceasked the Secretary of State for War when the scheme which permitted a soldier who had undertaken a 21 years' engagement to apply for a modified pension on the completion of 18 years' service will be reintroduced.
§ Mr. Lawson:Under the new pension code announced in the recent White Paper (Cmd. 6715) the period of service necessary to qualify for a service pension in future will be 22 years for all three Services, and the Army system of modified "pensions on voluntary 355W discharge after 18 years' service is discontinued. A soldier who had already re-engaged for pension on 19th December, 1945, when the new code came into operation, can, however, elect to be dealt with under the former regulations, and can thus secure a "modified" pension at the former rates if he is permitted to take his discharge after 18 years' service.