§ Mr. Loveridgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will give a breakdown of how the estimated annual cost of £160 million a year is arrived at in respect of the estimated 250,000 people who defer their retirement beyond the age of 65 or 60 if the retirement condition and its associated earnings rule were removed.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownI would refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Welwyn and Hatfield (Lord Balniel) on 2nd April 1974.—[Vol. 871, c.314–5.]
§ Mr. Loveridgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her estimate of the annual savings, if no increase was made in eventual flat rate retirement pensions for males and females who have deferred their retirement beyond the age of 65 or 60; and what is her estimate of the annual cost, if contributions to national insurance by employer and employee or self-employed person were abolished during the working period beyond 65 years of 60 years.
§ Mr. O'MalleyThe saving would be negligible in the first year and would build up only very slowly. Assuming the numbers of deferring retirement remain constant at the present level of about 210,000 the saving would reach about £90 million a year by the end of the century. The Answer to the second part of the Question is that contribution income would fall by about £33 million a year.
§ Mr. Loveridgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is her estimate of the annual cost to employers for all employed (a) males and (b) females who have not opted to retire at 65 or 60 years of age, if they were required (i) to 87W pay full national insurance employers' contributions until the age of 70 or 65, (ii) pay only one-third of such employers' contributions, and (iii) to pay only two-thirds of such employers' contributions
(2) what is her estimate of the annual cost to employees and self-employed (a) males and (b) females who have not opted to retire at 65 or 60 years of age, if they were required (i) to pay full national insurance employees' contributions until
£million Employer's contributions Insured person's contributions Amount of contribution Male Female Male Female Full rate … … … … 13 4 14 2 One-third rate … … … … 4 1 5 1 Two-thirds rate … … … … 9 2 9 2
§ Mr. Loveridgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her estimate of the annual cost to the Government if all employed or self-employed (a) males and (b) females who do not opt to retire at age 65 or 60 (i) were not required to pay national insurance contributions until the age of 70 or 65, (ii) were required to pay only one-third of the weekly contribution and (iii) were required to pay only two-thirds of the weekly contribution.
Mr. OMalleyThe yield of the full national insurance contributions which are at present payable in the circumstances stated is £33 million at August 1974 rates. The yield of contributions at one-third and two-thirds of the full rate would be £11 million and £22 million respectively.