§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many former firefighters are on retirement pensions; and how many firefighters there are in service. [82173]
§ Mr. LeslieThe information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is a matter for each362W individual fire authority. It is estimated that in England and Wales there are over 22,000 former firefighters receiving ordinary and ill-health pensions. The number of regular wholetime firefighters eligible for membership of the pension scheme on 31 March 2001, the last date for which figures are available, was 33375.
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average age of retirement for firefighters has been over the last five years. [82174]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average pension received by a firefighter is; what percentage of final salary a firefighter is entitled to after 30 years service; and what the average work-related pension received by a pensioner is. [82177]
§ Mr. LeslieThe information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. This is a matter for each fire authority. An analysis of a small sample of brigades at 31 March 2002 suggests that the average ill-health pension is 9,200 per annum, and the average ordinary pension is 11,300 per annum. The percentage of final salary a firefighter is entitled to after 30 years service is 66 per cent. The median income from occupational pensions for single pensioners in 2000–01 was £2,392 per annum.
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of the revenue of the fire service the present pension arrangements cost. [82180]
§ Mr. LeslieBased on provisional outturn figures for fire authorities in England, the net total of payments under the firefighters' pension scheme for 2001–02 was approximately 16 per cent. of net budgeted expenditure.