§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average retirement age for a firefighter; [37087]
(2) what has been the average cost of invalidity pensions paid to firefighters in the last three financial years. [37085]
§ Mr. George HowarthI refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham (Mr. Clarke) on 31 March 1998,Official Report, columns 466–67 about proposals to modernise the police and fire service pension schemes. The consultation document on the review of the fire service pension scheme, which has been placed in the Library, provides information on pension costs and average ages of retirement. This shows, on the basis of the data currently available, that the average age of firefighters retiring with a full pension after 30 years' service is 53.3 years. The average age of retirement on ill-health grounds is 44.8 years and with an injury on duty award is 44.3 years.
The firefighters' pension scheme is administered locally by fire authorities and information about the average cost of invalidity pensions is not held centrally.