§ Mr. Palmerasked the Secretary of State for Social. Services if he will give the estimated annual cost savings in unemployment benefit if the male qualifying age for full State retirement pension was reduced from 65 to 60 years.
§ Mr. PrenticeOn the assumptions that the pattern of retirement in relation to pensionable age remained as at present, and that two thirds* of the jobs vacated by men retiring earlier were filled by people on the unemployment register, it is estimated that expenditure on unemployment benefit would be reduced by about £500 million a year. However, as indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) on 22 July—[Vol. 989, c. 209–10]—the overall cost to Government funds of such a reduction in the pensionable age for men would be of the order of £1,800 million.
NOTE.* This proportion has been assumed because not all retirements would create vacancies, and not all vacancies would be filled, as there would not be enough unemployed people with the necessary qualifications and in the right place to fill them.