§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Servces whether single, widowed and divorced women whose State pension amounts to more than their tax-free allowance will be informed of this fact by her Department; and whether she will collect statistics for the number of women in this category.
§ Mr. MeacherAlthough a woman is not advised when her retirement or widow's penson exceeds her tax allowance, she is given general advice on tax liability in the leaflets she receives when claiming pension, and in the notes included in every retirement pension order book. Very few national insurance retirement pensions exceed the single person's tax allowance at present, and more detailed advice about tax has not been considered appropriate. I do not think that the expense of obtaining detailed statistics would be justified in the circumstances.