§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What would be the total annual financial cost if the Civil Partnership Bill were amended so as to backdate to 1988 (the date applicable to surviving widowers) survivor pension benefits for civil partners in public service schemes; and what is the basis of each element in that calculation; and [HL2924]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 19 May (WA 90), what is their estimate of the financial cost of providing survivor pensions in public service pension schemes if the propensity of opposite sex couples to marry continues at current levels for the next five years; and [HL3012]
158WAFurther to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 19 May (WA 90), what are the "normal actuarial assumptions" upon which the Government Actuary's Department bases its estimate of the impact of making survivor pension benefits for civil partners apply to all the past service of the relevant scheme members; and [HL3013]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 19 May (WA 90), who are the "relevant scheme members" upon which the Government Actuary's Department based its estimate; and [HL3014]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 19 May (WA 90), what would be the estimated annual financial cost of backdating to 1988 survivor pensions for civil partners in public sector schemes, calculated on the assumption given in the Women and Equality Unit consultation paper dated June 2003 that the take-up rate would only be around 10 per cent of the marriage rate. [HL3015]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)The Government Actuary's Department estimates the impact of civil partnership on public service pension schemes using as far as possible the actuarial assumptions on demographic and financial factors it considers appropriate for these schemes.
Their estimates assume that those current employees who will in due course register a partnership will have the same age profile, service lengths, mortality and future career patterns as the other members.
GAD estimates that the cost of providing accruing survivors benefits to opposite sex spouses is £1.8 billion per annum if the propensity of opposite sex couples to marry continues at current levels for the next five years. The special assumptions relating to civil partnerships are set out in the regulatory impact assessment.
The RIA does not include costing for backdating entitlement for civil partners: the policy of successive governments has been that improvements to pension benefits should not be made retrospectively at employer cost.
GAD estimates that if backdating to 1988 were granted for calculating pensions for surviving civil partners of members of public service schemes the cost would be a capital addition of £125 million to the liabilities of those schemes on the high take-up assumptions in the RIA, which assumes that same-gender couples form civil partnerships at one-tenth of the rate that opposite gender couples form marriages.
If the propensity to form civil partnerships were the same as the propensity to form marriages amongst opposite gender couples, which was the high take-up assumption in the June 2003 consultation document, the cost would be a capital addition of £1.25 billion.