§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men killed in action from 1 April 1973 to the latest date for which records exist, who were engaged on pensionable terms, failed to complete the minimum period of service required in their rank for the award of an occupational pension from his Department before being killed in action.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonPensions awarded under the occupational scheme for the Armed Forces include long-service pensions, invaliding pensions, and attributable invaliding pensions. Since 31 March 1973 there has been no minimum period of service required to qualify for 329W the award of an attributable invaliding pension. Consequently, all married service men killed in action since that date have been able to qualify their eligible widow for an occupational pension from the Ministry of Defence.
However, I assume that the hon. Member, in referring to the award of an occupational pension, is concerned with those long-service pensions awarded on normal retirement or discharge. The minimum period of reckonable service normally required to qualify for such awards is, for officers, 16 years and, for other ranks, 22 years.
Information on the number of service men killed in action since 1 April 1973 who had not given these periods of service before their death is not readily available and could he obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cumulative total number of those service men whose deaths were attributable to their service in the armed forces who died(a) in service, (b) after retirement from the armed forces and (c) after being invalidated out of or medically discharged from the armed forces, from 1959 to the latest available date; and, for each of the above categories for the latest year for which records exist, what was the number of war widows' pensions in payment from his Department.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe information requested on the number of service men whose death was attributable to their service in the Armed Forces is not available. Where applicable, war widows pensions corresponding to those deaths are paid by the Department of Social Security.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence why the award to the widow of a service man of an attributable forces family pension does not assume the promotion of her husband beyond the rank in which he was killed.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonIt is normal practice in occupational pension schemes that benefits, whether payable on retirement or death in service, are based on the level of salary actually received by the scheme member at or preceding the last day of service. The Armed Forces pension scheme uses rank held as an alternative to actual salary.