HC Deb 26 November 1997 vol 301 cc547-8W
Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what study has been conducted of the pension liabilities of the European Commission staff; and what proportion of employees hold private pensions. [17265]

Mrs. Liddell

I have been asked to reply.

In response to requests from the Council, the Commission prepared a paper on financing the Community pension scheme, which was discussed earlier this year. It included projections up to the year 2015 showing costs rising as the number of pensioners increase. The Commission is working on further studies, including an actuarial assessment of the scheme, on which we expect them to report in 1998. We do not have any information about the number of staff who may have private pensions.