§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will make a statement outlining the Government's plans for the future of the age addition paid to retired people over the age of 80 years;
(2) what purpose the age addition paid to retired people over the age of 80 years is supposed to serve;
(3) if he will estimate the cost involved in administrating the age addition payment to retired people over the age of 80 years;
(4) if he will estimate the value of the 25p age addition payment at 1992 prices assuming it had increased in line with the RPI since it was introduced;
492W(5) what plans he has to increase the value of the age with income benefit addition payment paid to retired people over the age of 80 support only years.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe 25p age addition paid to people who are over 80 was introduced in 1971, when the single person's pension was £6 a week, as a means of special help to the very elderly. No Government have increased the age addition since its introduction. Instead we have chosen to target resources on those pensioners with low incomes and have given extra help to poorer pensioners on income-related benefits in the sum of £700 million over and above normal upratings since 1989. There are no plans to increase the value of the 25p age addition.
Some 2.2 million people receive the age addition at an annual cost of £28.6 million. If it had been increased annually in line with prices since its introduction, it would now be worth £1.45 at an additional cost of £137 million. The 25p is added automatically to the pension on the first pay day after the pensioner's 80th birthday. There are, therefore no additional administration costs involved.