§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the report by the Government Actuary on his actuarial investigation of the National Health Service superannuation scheme for Scotland for the five-year period ended 31 March 1979 will be published; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. YoungerThe report will be published tomorrow and copies will be placed in the Library of the House.
519WThe report shows that, as the notional balance of £282 million to be met by employing authorities would be more than adequately covered by the current 7½ per cent. of salary paid by employers, their rate of contribution could be reduced, as the Actuary recommends, to 5½ per cent. of salary. This, however, would not cover the full cost of payments to members of the scheme as it takes no account of pension increases, the costs of which are met by the Exchequer. In view of this, and the Government's general policy that contribution rates should be realistic, I do not intend to alter the present rate.
The report indicates that, throughout the 5-year period, all employment groups have been affected by a general trend towards retirement at an earlier age. The number of pensioners in the scheme on 31 March 1979, at approximately 18,000 showed an increase of 40 per cent. in the period. Significant further increases can be expected for many years because of the relative immaturity of the scheme and the increase in the number of contributors.