§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many public sector employees are receiving index-linked pensions and how many present public-sector employees will be eligible for index-linked pensions in due course; what is the current cost; and what is the forecast cost for 1985, 1990 and 2000.
§ Mr. HayhoeIn 1979 there were estimated to be some 2.3 million public sector pensioners receiving index-linked pensions and some 5.6 million members of public sector pension schemes. Expenditure on benefits under public service pension schemes is expected to amount to about £4 billion in 1981–82. Information is not available centrally about expenditure by nationalised industry pension funds in the corresponding period. Projections of the likely growth of occupational pensions in the public and private sectors were provided by the Government Actuary's Department to the Committee to Review the Functioning of Financial Institutions and published as appendix 5 to its report, Cmnd. 7937, a copy of which is in the Library.