§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the costs of early retirement in terms of lost tax revenue to(a) the Government and (b) local government. [139694]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 21 November 2000]: This information is not available centrally.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of the tax regime on financial packages offered to public servants who take early retirement.[139705]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 21 November 2000]: The effect of the tax system will depend upon the terms of the early retirement package on offer. But, as for all occupational pension schemes, the tax rules allow a proportion of the pension benefits to be taken as a tax-free lump sum. Benefits other than any tax-free lump sum must be taken as pension income which will be subject to income tax in the normal way.