§ Lord McColl of Dulwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to increase the birth rate in (a) England and Wales; (b) Scotland; and (c) Northern Ireland. [HL4748]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)In the UK we currently have around 3.4 people of working age for every person aged state pension age and above. By 2030 this will have fallen to around 2.4.
178WAThe UK National Insurance Fund is financed on a pay-as-you-go basis with current national insurance contributions financing a range of today's contributory benefits, including the state retirement pension.
An increase in the birth rate would help to reduce any future demographic pressure on the National Insurance Fund. However, any increase in the birth rate would need to be sustained over the longer term as any one-off increase would generate future pressures on the National Insurance Fund.