HC Deb 03 March 1987 vol 111 c570W
70. Mr. Janner

asked the Paymaster General if he will estimate how many jobs would be made available if men were entitled to retire at 60 years of age.

Mr. Lee

It is not possible to predict with any accuracy the number of jobs which would be made available if the state pension age for men was reduced to 60 years of age. The outcome would depend in part on the number of men over 60 who chose to retire, and in part on the decisions of employers on whether to recruit new workers to fill the vacancies. Our best estimate is that some 500,000 jobs would be made available, not all of which would he filled from the unemployment count.