§ Mr.Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the present State retirement pension for (a) a married couple and (b) a single person if the pension was 50 per cent. of the Department of Employment figures for the national average weekly wage.
§ Mr. PrenticeIt is estimated that, in November 1979, the latest date for which a figure is available, the average gross full-time weekly earnings for adult men in all occupations was £113.10.
If the standard rate of the basic retirement pension for a single person were 50 per cent. of this figure, it would be £56.55 a week. If the rate for a married couple bore the same relationship to the single rate as it does now, it would be £90.50 a week.