§ Mr. Andrew Bowdenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the annual cost of abolishing the half-reckoning rule for unestablished Civil Service before 14 July 1949 (a) for current pensioners including widows and (b) for current serving civil servants.
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§ Mr. HayhoeA division of the cost between pensioners and serving civil servants is not available. It is estimated, however, that the total first year cost, assuming no arrears of pension for those who have already retired and no change in the basis of calculating lump sum retirement benefits, would be £34 million, reducing to £20 million by 1994–95. If the change were to be implemented over a 10-year period, starting with those now aged 70 and over, the first-year cost would be £18 million; the cost in 1994–95 would, of course, still be £20 million. The total cost over 25 years is estimated to be of the order of £550 million, or £460 million if implementation was phased over 10 years.