§ Mr. KnoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 18 March,Official Report, column 376, if he will publish an updated version of the table attached to the letter from the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Maidstone (Miss Widdecombe). dated 26 September 1992, showing the percentages of men aged 65 and women aged 60 years who were in receipt of a full category A retirement pension in 1980 and 1991 as a percentage of (a) the relevant population in those years, and (b) category A pensioners; and if he will also publish the explanatory notes in the letter.
Percentage of Pensioner Unit Age Groups with Gross Income of Less than £5000 per annum in 1989 Age 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80+ All Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Single pensioners 68 67 71 82 87 77 Pensioner couples 1— 13 18 23 27 18 All pensioner units 68 38 48 62 76 55 Notes:
1. A pensioner unit is defined as a single person aged at or above state pensionable age (SPA) or a couple where the husband is aged at or above SPA.
2. The age of the pensioner couple is taken to be the age of the husband.
1—Under the above definitions there are no pensioner couples in the 60–64 age band.
§ Mrs. Angela KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the additional cost or saving
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§ Miss. WiddecombeThe information requested is in the table.
Entitlement to full category A pension Column 1 as percentage of population Column 2 as percentage of category A pensioners At 28 November 1980 Men aged 65 79.47 96.86 Women aged 60 20.01 53.35 At 30 September 1992 Men aged 65 68.1 91.8 Women aged 60 16.3 37.1 Notes:
1. Great Britain residents only.
2. Population estimates from mid-1991 based on population projection.
3. Equivalent figures for invalidity benefit are not currently available.
§ Mrs. Angela KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the impact on the support ratio in 2030 of(a) maintaining the current state pension ages and (b) equalising state pension age at (i) 60, (ii) 65 and (iii) 67 years.
§ Miss WiddecombeOn the same basis as the estimates set out in the discussion document, "Options for Equality in State Pension Age", but incorporating the latest Office of Population Census and Surveys population projections, the effects on the support ratio in 2030 are in the table:
Ratio Current state pension ages 2.2 Age 60 1.8 Age 65 3.0 Age 67 3.2 Note:
The support ratio is defined as the number of people of working age per pensioner.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of pensioner tax units had incomes less than £5,000 per annum in the age bands(a) 60 to 64 years, (b) 65 to 69 years, (c) 70 to 74 years, (d) 75 to 79 years, (e) 80 years and over and (f) all ages, in the latest year for which figures are available.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe information is in the table:
to the Exchequer of equalising the state pension age at (a) 60, (b) 65 or (c) 67 years compared with the current arrangements
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§ Miss WiddecombeOn the same basis as the estimates set out in the discussion document "Options for Equality in State Pension Age," the effects on the Exchequer are in the table:
1992–93 prices £ billion Cost + ve, savings - ve 2025 2035 Age 60 4.6 3.6 Age 65 -3.7 -3.1 Age 67 -6.4 -5.7
§ Mrs. Angela KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the state pension age in(a) Sweden and (b) the United States of America.
§ Miss WiddecombeState pension age in Sweden is currently 65 for both men and women. In 1992 the Government passed legislation to raise the state pension age to 66. The new pension age will be phased in gradually over a four-year period ending in 1998.
State pension age in the United States of America is currently 65 for both men and women. In 1983 the Government passed a law to raise the age at which full benefits are payable from 65 to 67. The new age will be phased in very gradually during the first quarter of the next century.
§ Mrs. Angela KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the impact on the economically active ratio in 2030 of(a) maintaining the current state pension ages and (b) equalising the state pension age at (i) 60, (ii) 65 and (iii) 67 years.
§ Miss WiddecombeOn the same basis as the estimates set out in the discussion document, "Options for Equality in State Pension Age," the effects on the economically active ratio in 2030 are in the table.
Ratio Current state pension ages 1.4 Age 60 1.4 Age 65 1.5 Age 67 1.6 Note: The economically active ratio is defined as the number of active adults per inactive adult.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of recipients of(a) full state retirement pension and (b) reduced state retirement pension for each year since 1979–80.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe number of retirement pension recipients resident in Great Britain receiving 100 per cent. of the basic pension (full) or less than 100 per cent. (reduced rate) is as follows:
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Thousands Category A1 Category B2 Full Reduced rate Full Reduced rate November 1979 4,301.5 344.3 3,761.0 116.7 November 1980 4,359.2 401.6 3,802.8 111.8 November 1981 4,414.9 452.5 3,844.6 106.3 September 1982 4,427.3 516.3 3,849.9 106.3 September 1983 4,444.6 588.6 3,840.9 103.7 March 1984 4,411.9 627.3 3,788.1 100.1
Category A1 Category B2 Full Reduced rate Full Reduced rate September 1985 4,539.3 674.9 3,848.9 99.4 September 1986 4,605.3 700.7 3,857.9 94.7 September 1987 4,650.1 712.5 3,838.3 93.5 September 1988 4,678.2 717.2 3,818.3 92.9 March 1989 4,677.6 720.2 3,796.8 92.1 September 1990 4,748.3 756.3 3,774.5 92.0 September 1991 4,773.2 780.7 3,749.7 93.2 September 1992 4,803.9 816.4 3,720.3 99.7 1 Men and women on own insurance. 2 Wives and widows on husband's insurance. Note:
Further details can be found in the six-monthly "Retirement Pension: All Cases Tables" available in the Library.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total weekly cost of the state retirement pension for 1992–93 and 1993–94.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe information is in the table.
Year Basic RP (estimated) SERPS (estimated) Total weekly cost (estimated) 1992–93 £488 million £26 million £514 million 1993–94 £504 million £30 million £534 million Notes:
1. Source—Departmental Report 1993.
2. Excludes the cost of the non-contributory over-80 pension.
3. Weekly cost is based on the number of pension paydays in the year 1 April-31 March.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the operative date for the uprating of the state retirement pension in each year from 1980 to 1993.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe operative dates for uprating—that is, since 1987, the first Monday in the tax year—are as follows:
Year Uprating date 1980 24 November 1980 1981 23 November 1981 1982 22 Novemberr 1982 1983 21 November 1983 1984 26 November 1984 1985 25 November 1985 1986 28 July 1986 1987 6 April 1987 1988 11 April 1988 1989 10 April 1989 1990 9 April 1990 1991 8 April 1991 1992 6 April 1992 1993 12 April 1993