§ Mrs. WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of jobs which could be released if the state retirement age for men were reduced from 65 to 63 years of age.
§ Mr. ScottI have been asked to reply.
Our best estimate is that a reduction in men's state pension age from 65 to 63 would in the short term release about 150,000 vacancies to be filled from either the unemployment register or other sources. Over the longer term, the number of vacancies would fall as both employers and employees responded to changed conditions. The assumptions on which these estimates are based are currently under review.