§ Sir Peter EmeryTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women are aged 60 and over; and what percentage of them are in receipt of the full basic State Pension of £67.50 per week. [139841]
§ Mr. RookerThere are 6,739,000 women aged 60 and over, 49 per cent. of which receive a full category A State Pension.
Notes:
- 1. Figures for the percentage receiving State pension are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error.
433W - 2. Percentages are calculated using the ONS mid-term 1999 population estimates for the relevant gender and age band.
- 3. Figures for population are rounded to the nearest thousand and those for Retirement Pension are rounded to the nearest hundred.
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what will be the effective marginal rate of deduction from the 2001–02 increase in the basic State Pension for those recipients who receive(a) Housing Benefit, (b) Council Tax Benefit and (c) (a) and (b) together. [139845]
§ Mr. RookerPensioners in receipt of income-related benefits will gain fully from the increase in the basic State Pension, as these benefits will be increased by the same amount as the minimum income guarantee.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent discussions his Department has held with pensioner organisations concerning the level of the State Pension; and if he will place a record of the proceedings of such meetings in the Library. [139985]
§ Mr. RookerThroughout this Parliament we have held discussions with pensioner organisations. Discussions cover the range of issues of interest to pensioners. We do not publish details of private meetings.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Mr. Taylor) on 21 November 2000,Official Report, column 145W, on the state pension, on what levels of basic State Pension for a single person over each of the next four years he based the expenditure projections. [140377]
§ Mr. RookerThe information is in the table.
Assumed rates of the basic State Pension for a single person for the next four years Year Rate of BSP (£) 2000–01 67.50 2001–02 72.50 2002–03 75.50 2003–04 77.55 Notes:
- 1. Rates relate to a full Category A basic state pension.
- 2. Rate in 2003–04 is based on Treasury assumptions about the level of the Retail Price Index.
434W
Thousand Population figures Men aged 65 and over Women aged 60 and over Men with full basic pension in their own right1 Percentage of the male retired population Women with full basic pension in their own right1 Percentage of the female retired population March 1992 3,584.1 6,795.4 — — — — 1993 3,608.7 6,782.7 — — — — 1994 3,626.8 6,757.2 — — — — 1995 3,656.3 6,748.2 3,141.6 86 1,713.3 25 1996 3,683.5 6,736.0 3,202.2 87 1,742.8 26 1997 3,710.2 6,728.3 3,265.6 88 1,775.7 26 1998 3,735.8 6,737.6 3,324.6 89 1,819.2 27 1999 3,757.0 6,739.0 3,368.1 90 1,842.2 27 2000 3,757.0 6,739.0 3,420.0 91 1,882.6 28 1Figures include Category A and AB
Mr. John M. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will uprate the State Pension of expatriate residents of Canada who have contributed for more than 40 post-war years. [140000]
§ Mr. RookerOur priority is to focus the resources available on pensioners in the UK, especially those who are in greatest need. There are no plans to unfreeze the pensions in countries where upratings are not payable.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consultations he proposes to have before announcing the State Pension level for future years. [139987]
§ Mr. RookerThe Department receives a number of representations on benefit levels, including the level of State Pension, on a regular basis.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons expenditure on the basic pension in his reply to the hon. Member for Truro and St Austell (Mr. Taylor) on 21 November 2000,Official Report, column 145W, differs from the estimates in Table A6.1 of the Government Actuary's report (Cm 5920). [140557]
§ Mr. RookerThe principal differences are that the estimates given in my written answer on 21 November to the hon. Member for Truro and St Austell (Mr. Taylor) include forecasts of graduated Retirement Pension whereas the estimates in the Government Actuary's report exclude graduated Retirement Pension.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the net change in the value of the National Insurance Fund for the year 2001–02 would be resulting from an increase in the basic pension of £2 per week for a single pensioner and £3.20 for a couple and an increase in employers' contributions of 0.3 per cent. of earnings. [140472]
§ Mr. RookerNone.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate for each year since 1992 the proportion of retired men and women who(a) possess an entitlement to a full basic State Pension in their own right, (b) possess an entitlement to a reduced basic State Pension in their own right, (c) are dependent on their partner for entitlement and (d) have no entitlement. [140539]
§ Mr. RookerThe information is in the tables.
435W
Men with reduced basic pension in their own right1 Percentage of the male retired population Women with reduced basic person in their own right1 Percentage of the female retired population March 1992 — — — — 1993 — — — — 1994 — — — — 1995 191.8 5 732.7 11 1996 210.5 6 760.0 11 1997 232.3 6 792.8 12 1998 255.8 7 832.8 12 1999 281.9 8 881.5 13 2000 299.3 8 922.3 14 1Figures include Category A, AB, C and D
Men dependent on their partner for entitlement 1 Percentage of the male retired population Women dependent on their partner for entitlement 1 Percentage of the female retired population March 1992 0.4 0 3,836.5 56 1993 0.5 0 3,804.1 56 1994 0.6 0 3.454.6 51 1995 0.4 0 3,711.8 55 1996 0.4 0 3,617.3 54 1997 0.4 0 3,590.8 53 1998 0.4 0 3,562.5 53 1999 0.4 0 3,519.6 52 2000 0.6 0 3,465.4 51 1 Figures include Category B, ABL and BL
Men with no entitlement to basic pension Percentage of the male retired population Women with no entitlement to basic pension Percentage of the female retired population March 1992 — — — — 1993 — — — — 1994 — — — — 1995 322.9 9 590.4 9 1996 270.8 7 616.0 9 1997 212.3 6 569.1 8 1998 155.4 4 523.1 8 1999 107.1 3 495.7 7 2000 37.7 1 468.7 7 Note:
Figures are in thousands and are rounded to the nearest hundred
Source:
Population figures are from the Office for National Statistics mid-term estimates for Great Britain.
Retirement Pension figures are a 5 per cent. sample from the Pension Strategy Computer System for Great Britain at 31 March for each year quoted.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he is reviewing the measures of inflation used for uprating the basic pension and other benefits. [139121]
§ Mr. RookerA wide range of factors are taken into account, including the Retail Prices and Rossi Indices when considering the annual uprating of benefits.