§ Mr. Lubbockasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will estimate what the net additional sum required would be in order to pay old-age pensions at the full rate to all those who do not at present qualify, taking into account the saving on non-contributory old-age pensions, supplements to these, other national insurance benefits received by these people, the increased amounts which would be collected in both direct and indirect taxation, and the reduced expenditure of the National Assistance Board; and if he will set out these calculations in the Official Report for the years 1963–64 and 1964–65, respectively, assuming that taxation rates and National Insurance benefits remain unchanged over these periods.
§ Mr. N. MacphersonFor each of the years 1963–64 and 1964–65, the amounts involved would be of the following order on the hypothesis that pensions were provided at the standard National Insurance rates, regardless of retirement and contributions, to all those over the minimum pension ages who do not at present qualify:
£ millions per year Extra cost of pensions, and loss of contributions from persons over pension age 230 Savings on unemployment and sickness benefits, and on payments by the National Assistance Board (including non-contributory old-age pensions) 50 Cost (net of savings shown above) 180 No estimate of the effect on tax yield can be given.