§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total sum invested in funded private pensions in the United Kingdom; and what are the equivalent figures for(a) each country in the European Union and (b) each country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. [14861]
475W
§ Mr. HealdThe information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
£ billion cash prices Estimated fund UK 600 Germany 157 Netherlands 138 Sweden 53 Denmark 38 France 33 Finland 20 Belgium 12 Spain 11 Ireland 9 Italy 5 Portugal. 4 Greece 1 Austria 1 Luxembourg Negligible sources:
1. Finnish and Swedish data relate to 1993 and are from Finnish Central Pensions Institute.
2. UK data from DSS estimate, and relates to 1993.
3. Austrian data from Austrian Government, and relate to 1994.
4. Other data from "Supplementary Pensions in the European Union"; 1994. Data for Greece relate to 1989; for Italy, Belgium and Denmark to 1991; for france to 1991/92; for Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Ireland to 1992; and for Portugal to 1992–93.
Note:
Information on the level of pension funds in OECD countries, other than for those countries which are members of the EU, is not available.
§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the effects of reduced equity investment yields on the incomes to beneficiaries of occupational and personal pensions. [14873]
§ Mr. HealdAll things being equal, any reduction in yield would mean that members of occupational and personal pension schemes would retire with lower pensions or that they and their employers would have to contribute more.
§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of contributors to occupational pension schemes in(a) 1966, (b) 1975, (c) 1985 and (d) 1995. [14868]
§ Mr. HealdInformation on the number of active members of occupational pension schemes, some of whom will be in non-contributory schemes, is given by the "Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes" by the Government Actuary's Department. This is conducted every four years. The available information is in the table. Data for 1995 are not yet available.
476W
Year Active members of occupational pension schemes (millions) 1967 12.2 1975 11.4 1983 11.1 1987 10.6 1991 10.7
§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many retired persons were in receipt of occupational private pensions in(a) 1979 and (b) 1995. [14863]
§ Mr. HealdIt is estimated mat around 6.5 million people were in receipt of an occupational pension in 1991, the latest year for which information is available. Some of these people received more than one pension. The total number of occupational pensions in payment was 7 million. In 1979, there were 3.7 million occupational pensions in payment; information on the number of people receiving these pensions is not available.
Source:
GAD Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes 1991.