§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of occupational pensioners who register for work merely in order to avoid the obligation to buy a weekly national insurance stamp.
§ Mr. OrmeAs at 8th July 1976, the latest date for which figures are available, 24,000 male occupational pensioners aged between 55 and 64 were estimated to be registering as unemployed and in receipt of national insurance contribution credits only. However, it is not known how many were registering mainly for this purpose. An occupational pensioner who is neither employed nor in self-employment has, under the Social Security Act 1975, no obligation to pay national insurance contributions.