§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Lord President of the Council how many personal pension (i) schemes and (ii) individual policies the Fees Office administers on behalf of hon. Members' staff; and how many whole-time equivalent staff are employed to administer them.
§ Mr. MacGregor[holding answer 17 July 1991]: The Fees Office, on behalf of hon. Members, currently makes payments towards a total of 1,021 individual pension arrangements for Members' staff.
The Fees Office employs the equivalent of two full-time staff to administer these arrangements.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Lord President of the Council how much money was available to be paid into personal pension schemes for hon. Members' staff in 1990–91; and what proportion of it was paid into hon. Members' staff policies.
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§ Mr. MacGregor[holding answer 17 July 1991]: Staff of an honourable Member are eligible for pension contributions of up to 10 per cent. of their gross salaries paid from the Member's office costs allowance. In the financial year 1990–91 the total salaries paid amounted to £12,141,417, making £1,214,142 available for pension contributions; £998,099, representing 82.2 per cent., was actually paid.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list each pension scheme currently in operation for people employed in the House of Commons, including hon. Members, and indicate the category and number of personnel eligible.
§ Mr. MacGregor[holding answer 17 July 1991]: Membership of the following pension schemes is open to Members of Parliament, all House of Commons permanent staff and staff employed by hon. Members and paid from their office cost allowances.
Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund
With the exception of the Speaker, the Prime Minister and former Prime Ministers, whose pensions are payable from the Consolidated Fund, all Members of Parliament are eligible for Membership.House of Commons Staff Pension Scheme
All House of Commons permanent staff and those with period appointments, 1,039 at 30 June 1991, are eligible for membership.Hon. Members Staff Pensions Arrangements
All staff of hon. Members who are paid salaries from the Members' office costs allowance—1,312 at 30 June 1991—are eligible for a contribution not exceeding 10 per cent. of their salary to be paid towards an individual pension arrangement.Other persons employed in the House of Commons are subject to pension arrangements provided by their employers.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Lord President of the Council what is his estimate of the cost to the House of Commons Fees Office of administering the pension provision for hon. Members' staff as a proportion of contributions paid to their policies for the year 1990–91.
§ Mr. MacGregor[holding answer 17 July 1991]: Salary costs as a proportion of premiums paid in 1990–91 was 3 per cent.