§ Sir David Priceasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the case of Miss Helen Marshall, she will introduce legislation to reform the rules of age eligibility for the basic state retirement pension so that they are flexible between 60 and 65 years and equal between men and women.
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§ The Prime MinisterThe judgment of the European Court of Justice in the case of Miss Helen Marshall, a public servant, was concerned with the age at which she must leave work rather than eligibility for retirement pensions. The Government's stated aim is for greater flexibility in pension age, which would allow individual choice, and the recent Green Paper on Reform of Social Security (Cmnd. 9518) sought views on possible ways of achieving this. However, none of the responses to the Green Paper suggested solutions which would not place an unacceptable burden on the economy. As stated in the White Paper on Reform of Social Security (Cmnd. 9691), the Government will continue to examine possible ways in which greater flexibility might be achieved.