Retirement Pensioners (Hansard, 12 February 1996)

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the total sum of the social security budget for the financial year 1996–97 which will be devoted to benefits, pensions and other payments made to people over retirement age. [14013]

§ Mr. Heald
The information is set out in table 5 of the 1995 social security departmental report (Cm 2813), a copy of which is in the Library.
The 1996 departmental report, to be published at the end of March, will include updated figures. Copies of the report will be placed in the Library.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the total cost of increasing the state retirement pension level by £1 for every entitled pensioner in the financial year 1996–97. [14014]
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§ Mr. Heald
The gross cost of giving all pensioner who receive some basic retirement pension a flat £1 per week increase in their pension is £540 million in the 1996–97 financial year. This cost includes giving £1 per week to the small number of pensioners receiving non-contribution retirement pensions.
The total cost, net of income related benefits is estimated at £400 million.
Note: All costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million.

§ Mr. Rooney
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the change in income in real terms of the average pensioner since 1979; and how this is made up between(a) state retirement pension, (b) state earnings-related pension scheme and (c) personal or occupational pension. [14859]

§ Mr. Heald
Pensioners' average gross incomes increased by 50 per cent. in real terms between 1979 and 1993, the latest available information—a rise of £56.80 per week. It is not possible to provide separate figures for basic retirement pension and SERPS but taken together they account for approximately a quarter of the increase, while occupational pensions account for about two-fifths. No separate information on personal pensions is available.
Source:
Family Expenditure Surveys 1979 and 1993.
Note:
The information contained in this reply is based upon pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single person over state pension age or a couple where the head of the household, or husband, is over state pension age.

§ Mr. Rooney
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons of pensionable age are in receipt of(a) occupational pension, (b) personal pension and (c) state earnings-related pension scheme. [14870]

§ Mr. Heald
The latest information available shows that 6.5 million people were in receipt of an occupational pension in 1991, and that an estimated 60 per cent. of occupational pensioners are over state pension age¹. A total of 4.2 million people were in receipt of a SERPS pension in March 1995. It is estimated that in 1993–94, around 150,000 taxpayers over state pension age were in receipt of income from a personal pension2.
Source:
1. GAD Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes 1991 and DSS statistics.
2. Inland Revenue. This figure relates to taxpayers only. There will also be non-taxpayers in receipt of a personal pension, but no data is available on this group.