HC Deb 01 December 1993 vol 233 cc595-6W
Mr. French

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the future of SERPS.

Mr. Hague

The Government are committed to ensuring that all individuals have the opportunity to make provision for their retirement in addition to the basic state pension. SERPs is one of several options available to people. Some 10 million people are contracted out of SERPs through occupational pension schemes; and an additional 5 million people have chosen to contract out of SERPs through personal pensions. The Government want to encourage personal responsibility in the provision of pensions, and we are considering ways of ensuring that personal pensions remains attractive across the age range.

Mr. Bates

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals who contracted out of SERPs during the last year for which figures are available had earnings whch when expressed as a fraction of national average earnings were(a) less than 50 per cent., (b) 50 to 99 per cent., (c) 100 to 149 per cent. and (d) 150 per cent. or more.

Mr. Hague

The information is not available in the form requested. Information on the earnings of members of contracted out occupational schemes expressed as a percentage of national average earnings, as at the end of 1991–92, is shown in the table. Such information as is available on the earnings of individuals contracted out of SERPs by virtue of appropriate personal pensions is contained in "Social Security Statistics 1993", a copy of which is in the Library.

Earnings band Number of employees in contracted-out employment (000s)
Less than 50 per cent. of national average earnings 360
Between 50 and 99 per cent. of national average earnings 2,620
Between 100 and 149 per cent. of national average earnings 3,270
Over 150 per cent. of national average earnings 3,110

Notes:

  1. 1. Data derived from Inland Revenue statistics. It relates to the whole of the United Kingdom.
  2. 2. The figures are based on an analysis of a 1 per cent. sample of all end-of-year PAYE returns submitted to the Inland Revenue by employers. Each relates to a single employment.
  3. 3. The definition of national average earnings for this purpose is calculated from the sample using the amount of pay and an estimate of the length of employment covered by each return, and includes both part-time and full-time employment.