§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many occupational pension schemes now have rules as to the priority claims on a winding up which will enable them to take advantage of Clause 56(3) of the Social Security Bill; and how many would under their present rules have to rely on Clause 56(5).
§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons once contracted out of the graduated pension scheme have been put back into it in each year since 1961 as a result of the failure of their occupational pension scheme to provide or guarantee equivalent pension benefit; and in respect of how many employees the amount of back payment of contributions fell short of the amount due.
§ Mr. DeanI presume that the right hon. Gentleman wants to know the number of persons who, having been contracted out of the State graduated pension scheme, subsequently ceased to be in the employment in which they were contracted out before pension age and for whom pensions were not preserved in the private scheme so that payments in lieu of contributions to the State scheme were made in respect of the period during which they were contracted out. The numbers for the financial years since April 1961 are as follows:
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1961–62 … … 142,242 1962–63 … … 290,829 1963–64 … … 255,673 1964–65 … … 249,623 1965–66 … … 231,053 1966–67 … … 246,949 1967–68 … … 246,846 1968–69 … … 269,889 1969–70 … … 284,166 1970–71 … … 301,152 1971–72 … … 303,156 1972–73 (February) … … 328,506 The information requested in the second part of the Question is not available before 1968, and the following figures include items arising out of bankruptcies (in brackets) from December 1970 only:
1968–69 … … 108 1969–70 … … 125 1970–71 … … 272 (152) 1971–72 … … 359 (166) 1972–73 (February) … … 540 (425) The bankruptcy figures have not been adjusted to take account of any amounts paid at some later date to complete the 100 per cent. dividend. This information could be made available only at inordinate cost. Where an employer fails to make a payment in lieu, the employee's graduated pension rights in the State scheme are nevertheless preserved.
§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how under the Social Security Bill the entitlement to widows' pension of a woman married when her husband is 35 years of age and widowed after she and her husband have reached pensionable age, will compare where her husband's total pension consists of (a) a preserved occupational pension up to age 34 years and an occupational pension thereafter, and (b) a reserve scheme pension up to age 34 years and an occupational pension thereafter.
§ Mr. DeanI regret that too many unknown factors and assumptions are
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RESERVE SCHEME PENSIONS TABLE 2 Assuming real earnings rising at 3 per cent. per annum Age on birthday in tax year of entry Weekly pension for person whose earnings at entry are: Reserve pension as percentage of earnings at retirement £10 £20 £30 £40 £48 £ £ £ £ £ Per cent. Men 55 … … 0.49 0.98 1.48 1.97 2.36 3.77 45 … … 1.39 2.79 4.18 5.57 6.69 7.95 35 … … 2.94 5.87 8.81 11.75 14.10 12.46 25 … … 5.50 11.00 16.50 22.00 26.40 17.37 22 … … 6.55 13.10 19.64 26.19 31.43 18.92 Women 50 … … 0.40 0.80 1.19 1.59 1.91 3.05 40 … … 1.13 2.25 3.38 4.51 5.41 6.43 30 … … 2.38 4.76 7.14 9.52 11.43 10.10 25 … … 3.29 6.59 9.88 13.17 15.81 12.06 22 … … 3.96 7.92 11.88 15.84 19.01 13.27 involved to make any meaningful comparison possible.
§ Mr. O'Malleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assumptions are made in Table 2 of Appendix E of the Explanatory Memorandum on the Social Security Bill 1972 regarding month of birth and frequency of increases in earnings; and what would be the rates of reserve pension shown in the table if expressed to the nearest 0.01 per cent.
§ Mr. DeanAt the commencement of the scheme, entry to the reserve pension scheme will be from the beginning of a tax year, and thereafter the youngest entrants will start paying reserve scheme contributions from the beginning of the tax year following their 21st birthday. Liability for reserve scheme contributions ceases at the end of the tax year preceding the attainment of pensionable age. The amount of pension shown in the table accordingly depends only on the age in the tax year of entry and not on the month of birth. The earnings shown at the head of each column of the table have been assumed to apply to the tax year of entry and increase by 3 per cent. at the beginning of each tax year thereafter. The proportions shown in the last column of the table have been calculated to relate to the earnings in the last complete tax year before the attainment of pensionable age. Table 2 revised to give figures to two places of decimals is as follows:
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§ Mr. O'Malleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, what would be the minimum weekly pensions provided by recognised occupational schemes, comparable to those shown for the reserve scheme in Table 2 of Appendix E of the Explanatory Memorandum on the Social Security Bill 1972, in money terms and as percentages of earnings at retirement, assuming that prices increase at 3 per cent. per annum; and what would be
MINIMUM PERSONAL PENSIONS UNDER CLAUSE 51(7) OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY BILL SUBJECT TO INCREASE AFTER AWARD Amounts of pension, in terms of constant prices, on the assumption that earnings increase at 9 per cent per annum and prices increase at 6 per cent. per annum Age on birthday in tax year of entry Weekly pension for person whose earnings at entry are: Pension as percentage of earnings at retirement £10 £20 £30 £40 £48 £ £ £ £ £ Per cent. Men 55 … … 0.8 1.7 2.6 3.4 4.1 7 45 … … 1.6 3.2 4.8 6.4 7.7 9 35 … … 2.4 4.8 7.1 9.5 11.4 11 25 … … 3.3 6.6 9.8 13.1 15.8 11 22 … … 3.6 7.2 10.8 14.4 17.3 11 Women 50 … … 0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4 2.8 5 40 … … 1.1 2.2 3.4 4.5 5.4 7 30 … … 1.7 3.3 5.0 6.6 8.0 7 25 … … 2.0 3.9 5.9 7.9 9.4 8 22 … … 2.2 4.3 6.5 8.6 10.4 8 The tables are based on the assumption that the person would be in recognised pensionable employment continuously from the beginning of the income tax year in which the age shown in the first column is attained up to the end of the income tax year preceding age 65 for a man and age 60 for a woman.