§ Q33. Mr. Stoddartasked the Prime Minister if, in the light of recent violence and rioting involving unemployed young people, she will order an urgent investigation of the possibility of lowering the retirement age for men to 60 years in order to make more jobs available for young people.
§ Mr. WhitelawI have been asked to reply.
As made clear in chapter 3 of the White Paper "Growing Older"—Cmnd. 8173—a lowering of the minimum pension age for men must be regarded as a long-term rather than an immediate objective if earlier retirement is to attract worthwhile pension levels at a cost the country can afford. Meanwhile, despite present economic difficulties, the Government have retained and improved such employment measures as the job release scheme and the youth opportunities programme and will aim to build further on these provisions as resources permit.