§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the Government's estimate of how many people would leave the state pension scheme and at what cost; and what are the latest actual figures.
§ Miss WiddecombeIn his report on the financial effects of the 1986 Social Security Bill on the national insurance fund, the Government actuary said that there was no basis for making a firm estimate of the likely increase in those contracting out of the state earnings-related pension scheme (SERPS) as the result of the provisions contained in the Bill.
The latest actual figures show that the total amount of revenue foregone in 1989–90 was £7.7 billion in respect of some 9.5 million members of contracted out occupational pension schemes in that year and some 3 million people who had taken out personal pensions in 1988–89.