§ Mr. Geoffrey Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether, in his forthcoming legislation, he will take steps to remove the anomaly whereby under the State pension scheme, as published, a person whose 471W earnings have remained on approximately the same level will in come circumstances draw a larger pension than a person who has had his earnings raised from a lower level;
(2) whether he will, in his forthcoming legislation, take steps to remove anomalies which, in the State pension scheme as published, under the provisions for revaluation at the time of retirement do not ensure that those who have paid higher contributions are given higher benefits;
(3) whether he will, in his forthcoming legislation, take steps to remove the disincentive arising out of his proposals for abatement of State pension earned by occupational pensioners and for revaluation at the time of retirement whereby a person whose earnings have been greater in his early years will in some circumstances draw a greater pension than a person whose earnings have increased towards the end of his service.
§ Mr. O'MalleyIt is not accepted that there are anomalies here. The revaluation of the contributor's earnings record to keep it in line with rises in national average earnings is one of the most beneficial features of the scheme. It necessarily follows that a given amount of earnings in early life will be worth more than the same cash amount earned in later years.