§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assumptions the actuary made at the time of the last report on the NHS pension scheme about the proportion of(a) contributing members (b) deferred members and (c) pensioners on their death who would have qualifying partner survivors; and what assumptions he makes currently. [104268]
§ Mr. DenhamThe National Health Service Pension Scheme only pays survivor benefits to legal spouses or dependent children. The Government Actuary assumed that the proportion of members married at death varies by age. The proportion increased with age up to retirement, and then reduced with increasing age thereafter, allowing for the likelihood that the spouse may have predeceased the member.
The actuarial assumptions are based on an analysis of the experience within the scheme. For the last report, it was assumed that on average 66 per cent. of contributing and deferred members would have an entitlement to a survivor's benefit, if death occurred in the following year. The assumption for pensioners was 50 per cent. These assumptions will be reviewed as part of the next report, which is expected to be available around mid-2001.