§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of reducing the qualifying age for men to be entitled to the national retirement pension to 60 years so as to provide for equality with women; and why there is at present an age disadvantage for men.
§ Mr. MeacherAn estimated additional £1,560 million a year at the pension rates to be introduced next month.
Prior to 1940 the pension age for both men and women was 65 but there were no provisions then, as there are now, to enable a man to receive an increase of his pension in respect of a wife who was under pension age. This resulted in cases of hardship, particularly where, before retirement, the man had been receiving an increase in unemployment benefit for his wife, and it was decided to alleviate this hardship by reducing the pension age for women to 60.