§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the amount of the public sector pensions payable in each of as many future years as are available, assuming annual inflation at the current rate of 2 per cent.;
(2) if he will list for as many of the forthcoming years as are available the percentage of forecast gross domestic product that will be allocated to public sector pensions.
§ Mr. PortilloThe most recent estimates of public sector pension scheme liabilities and the costs of public service pension scheme benefits were contained in the answers given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security on 7 June at column140 and by me on 8 June at column 200.
Projections of those estimates for future years are not available and would require a substantial amount of actuarial calculation. However, many of the public service pension schemes are approaching maturity in pension terms. Accordingly, it is not expected that there will be an increasing demand on the economy in real terms. In the longer term, with the reduction in the number of employees in the public sector, it is to be expected that public sector pension costs will reduce in real terms.