§ 100. Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many retired Post Office officers are receiving pensions at the present time; and if it is his intention to increase these to correspond to the increased cost of living and to abolish the means test now imposed.
§ Mr. Glenvil HallOn 1st February, 53,701 retired Post Office officers were receiving pensions; in 50,368 of these cases, these pensions have been increased under the Pensions (Increase) Acts, 1944 and 1947. I can hold out no hope of 69W further legislation. The means test applied in a proportion of these cases is designed to ensure that the increase is only given in the more necessitous cases and has been laid down by this House in the statutes.