§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) of 5 July 1999,Official Report, column 624, by what year he plans to ensure that all those who have worked and contributed throughout their lives will receive on retirement an income above the means-tested threshold; and what is his definition of lifetime in this context. [90820]
§ Mr. TimmsBy 2038, everyone who has worked and contributed throughout their working life will receive on retirement a state pension above the level of the Minimum Income Guarantee.
301WA full working life for SERPS and State Second Pension purposes is 49 years.
Notes:
1. Earnings are assumed to grow 1.5 per cent. faster than prices.
2. The State Second Pension is assumed to be introduced in 2002.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers), of.6 May 1999,Official Report, column 457, on pensioner incomes, what would be the difference in income between a single man of 65 years with no savings or resources and the income of a single man of 65 years who has resources of at least £16,000, assuming that both men have the median income from SERPS for all newly retired pensioners; and what amount of money would be required to purchase an annuity to fund this difference, if the housing benefit and council tax benefit received as the average amount paid to those aged 60 years or over receiving income support and housing benefit, and if the annuity were inflation-linked; and if he will give the same figures for two women at 60 years. [90515]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 12 July 1999]: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
£ Men aged 65 Difference in income per week in circumstances specified 20 Lump sum required to purchase equivalent annuity 14,000 Notes:
1. Information on SERPS awards by marital status is not available. For men, the median award for all men aged 65 has been taken as a proxy for single men aged 65. For women, it would not be appropriate to take the median award for all women aged 60 as a proxy for single women aged 60 as many recently retired married women had opted out of SERPS by paying the married women's reduced rate of NI contributions.
2. All figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
4. The annuity rates used are for 5 per cent. Limited Price Indexation. This is an annuity where the payments are uprated each year in line with inflation up to maximum of 5 per cent.
5. Figures for average eligible rent/Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit relating to May 1997 were taken from Social Security Statistics 1998. These averages are for all benefit recipients, including single pensioners and pensioner couples.
6. Figures for median SERPS were taken from a 5 per cent. sample of Department of Social Security records as at 31 March 1999.