HC Deb 26 January 1971 vol 810 c67W
Mr. J. H. Osborn

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total national income in 1970; how much of this was made up of wages and salaries, namely, earned income, and how much of dividends, rents, and interest, namely, unearned income; and how these two elements were distributed between wage and salary earners and their families, the unemployed and the sick and their families, and those who have retired.

Mr. Maurice Macmillan

Following is the reply:

Information for 1970 is not yet available. The figures for 1969 are given in the table below:

£ million
Total national income* of which: 35,083
Income from employment 27,174
Income from self-employment* 2,547
Rent, dividends and net interest received by personal sector 4,146
*After deducting stock appreciation and capital consumption.
†Including receipts by life assurance and pension funds and by private non-profit-making bodies.

No figures are available on the types or amounts of income, other than social security benefits, received by the unemployed or the sick. From the Inland Revenue's Income Survey for 1968–69, the latest year available, it is estimated that persons in receipt of retirement pensions and others over age 65, had net earned income of about £637 million and net investment income of about £722 million, in addition to their retirement and occupational pensions.