§ Mrs. Kellett-Bowmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the net cost or benefit to the National Insurance Fund of making women's retirement age 61 years and men's (a) 64 years, (b) 63 years, (c) 62 years and (d) 61 years, respectively.
§ Mr. O'MalleyThe cost of lowering the pension age for men would depend on the extent to which men retired at 505W the lower age. On the assumption that the pattern of retirement during the first five years after the lower age would be the same as it is now between 65 and 70, the cost, allowing for the uprating to £11.60 a week in April, would be about £250 million, £505 million, £780 million and £1,075 million, respectively, a year. The saving from raising the pension age for women would be about £60 million a year.
Year Total High Court County Court Court of Summary Jurisdiction 1972 … … 21,603 (134) 21 (—) 13,461 (134) 8,121 1973 … … 22,251 (167) 34 (1) 13,825 (166) 8,392 1974 … … 22,502 (137) 43 (—) 13,927 (137) 8,532 Note: The figures include the numbers of provisional adoption orders which are shown in brackets. These orders confer authority on a person not domiciled in Great Britain to take a child out of this country for adoption.