Retirement Pensions

HC Deb 29 June 1964 vol 697 cc137-8W

6. Mr. Ridley

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the cost of paying pensions to all those of retirement age who do not at present receive a pension because they have made an inadequate number of contributions; and how much National Assistance would be thereby saved.

RETIREMENT PENSION RATES SINCE 1951
Rate	September. 1952	April, 1955	January, 1958	April, 1961	May, 1963
		£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.
Single rate	…	1	12	6	2	0	0	2	10	0	2	17	6	3	7	6
Married rate	…	2	14	0	3	5	0	4	0	0	4	12	6	5	9	0

44. Mr. Small

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many retirement pensioners are in receipt of an allowance from the National Assistance Board; and if, in view of the increase in the cost of living for such people, he will now increase the retirement pension.

Mrs. Thatcher

About 1,109,000. Some of the grants provided for the requirements of a household with more than one pensioner. The Index of Retail Prices has risen by only 3 per cent. since retirement pensions were increased substantially a year ago.

Mr. Wood

It would cost about £115 million a year immediately to pay retirement pensions at the standard rates to those who have paid no contributions or too few to qualify. The saving in payments by the National Assistance Board would be something like £40 million a year.

20. Mr. Curran

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance on how many occasions retirement pensions have been increased since 1951; what were the rates and the date of each change; and what has been the improvement, in cash and in purchasing power, over the whole period.

Mr. Wood

Retirement pension rates have been increased on five occasions since 1951. The present rates of pension are worth more than twice as much in money terms and, on the basis of the Retail Prices Index, about half as much again in real terms as the 1951 rates of £1 10s. for a single person and £2 10s. for a married couple. The rates of pension payable at the relevant dates are contained in the following table.