§ 42. Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the cost of financing the State retirement pensions from November 1981 to November 1982; and by how much public expenditure would have to increase for a £1 increase in the pension of every retirement pensioner per week.
§ Mr. RossiThe estimated cost of financing State retirement pensions from November 1981 to November 1982, at the rates announced for the November 1981 uprating, is £12.7 billion.
On the assumption that the standard basic retirement pension on a person's own contributions is increased by £1 a week, with pro rata increases for other rates, and that supplementary pensions are increased correspondingly, the estimated additional cost would be of the order of £420 million for a full year.