§ Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to continue operating the state earnings-related pension scheme.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe Government's decisions on the future of the state retirement pension scheme will be announced as part of the outcome of the social security reviews, which we hope to publish in the early part of this year.
§ Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what amount of state earnings-related pension is currently in payment to people retiring in 1985 who have paid into the scheme at the highest contribution rate since its inception.
§ Mr. WhitneyA person who has paid at the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions since April 1978 and has retired in 1985 would currently be entitled to an earnings related additional component of £16.21 per week. Very few, if any, people will actually be receiving this maximum amount. In September 1983, the latest date for which information is available, the average payment was £2.50 per week.