HC Deb 27 October 1988 vol 139 cc329-30W
Sir Eldon Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he had made of the costs of paying fully indexed state retirement pensions to all United Kingdom pensioners in each of(a) Australia, (b) Canada, (c) New Zealand, (d) the United States of America and (e) the 12 member countries of the European Economic Community; and in which of these countries such indexed pensions are in fact paid.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The current costs in the 1987–88 tax year for paying United Kingdom retirement pension and widows benefits to pensioners in Australia, Canada and New Zealand are about £105 million, £62 million and £23 million a year, respectively. These pensions are not indexed linked and the cost of paying full United Kingdom rates of pensions and widows' benefits in those countries is estimated at 1988 rates to be an additional £88 million, £49 million and £36 million a year, respectively.

United Kingdom pensioners in the United States of America and in the EC receive uprated pensions and the costs for each country for 1987–88 are shown in the table.

£ million
United States of America 40
Belgium 2.4
Denmark 0.4
France 4.3
West Germany 9.1
Greece 0.8
Republic of Ireland 54.9
Italy 11
Luxembourg 0.04
Netherlands 1.9
Portugal 1.3
Spain 15.7
United Kingdom 19,129

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