§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how the pension entitlement of women who worked only or mainly during the war years is calculated; what are the criteria for entitlement; and if he will give these greater publicity;
(2) how many women are receiving a pension in their own right based solely or mainly on the contributions they made whilst they were working during the war years; what is his estimate of the number who may be entitled to such a pension but have not claimed it; and what leaflets his Department publishes about the pension position of women, now over 60 years, who worked only or mainly during the war years.
§ Mr. WhitneyIt is not possible to identify women receiving a retirement pension based wholly or mainly on wartime insurance. Entitlement to retirement pension depends on contributions paid over the contributor's working life. Contributions paid to insurance schemes in existence before 1948 may be counted for this purpose provided the insurance cover was live in 1948. When retirement pension is claimed any relevant contributions 589W paid prior to 1948 are taken into account. There are no special leaflets on this subject but information on how the retirement pension is calculated, including pre-1948 insurance, is contained in leaflet NP 32 "Your Retirement Pension", obtainable from local offices of the Department.