Pensions (Hansard, 19 October 1998)

§ 25. Mr. Forth
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the publication of the Green Paper on pensions. [53499]
957W

§ Mr. Denham
As set out in the Green Paper "New Ambitions for our Country: A New Contract for Welfare" (Cm 3805) we will publish a Green Paper on pensions later this year. There will be a period of further consultation before final proposals are developed.

§ Mr. Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his assessment of the cost of re-linking the annual calculations of the state pension based on(a) a 1980 and (b) a 1998 base line. [53490]

§ Mr. Denham
If the basic State Pension had been uprated in April 1998 in line with the higher of prices or earnings movements since 1979, the net additional cost would have been £9.5 billion in 1998.
If the basic State Pension had been uprated in April 1998 in line with the higher of prices or earnings movements over the preceding year only, the net cost would have been £130 million.