§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the estimated capital value of a non-contributory inflation-proofed Civil Service pension of £8,500 each year.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisTo earn a pension of £8,500 a civil servant would have to serve a full career and reach the very highest levels in the Home Civil or Diplomatic Service; even after this month's increase, there are only some 70 such pensioners. Moreover, by foregoing pay, civil servants contribute in full measure to the cost of their pensions. On the assumption that over the longer term the rate of inflation will be lower than interest rates, it is estimated that the capital value of an inflation-proofed pension of £8,500 payable to a man retiring today at age 60 is £105,000. The capital value of a pension of £8,500 under a private scheme which provided a reasonable measure of pension protection would, of course, be broadly the same.