§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has conducted any survey of the proportion of men who would continue working after they reached pension age if it was lowered to 64, 63, 62, 61 and 60 years.
§ Miss WiddecombeNo; but the discussion document on equalising state pension age contained information on activity rates in this age group, and a survey commissioned by the Department from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys will contain further information about individuals who have already retired, or plan to retire, earlier than the current state pension age. Since national insurance retirement pensions are no longer subject to an earnings rule, there is of course no necessary association between the decision whether or not to retire and the decision about whether or not to draw state retirement pension.