§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the median weekly income excluding means-tested benefits of(a) single male pensioners, (b) single female pensioners and (c) married pensioners who are aged (i) 60 to 64, (ii) 65 to 69, (iii) 70 to 74, (iv) 75 to 79 and (v) 80 years or above, in each of the years for which the pensioner income series has been constructed, and in 1974. [55637]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 19 October 1998]: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the tables.
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Pensioner units' median gross income excluding means-tested benefits, by age £ Age 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 and over (a)Single male pensioners 1979 n/a 73 86 67 66 1981 n/a 86 78 72 78 1987 n/a 83 96 81 89 1988 n/a 93 93 71 83 1989 n/a 98 97 80 75 1990–91 n/a 101 96 89 93 1992 n/a 100 110 83 83 1993 n/a 95 116 97 90 1994–95 n/a 108 98 102 83 1995–96 n/a 130 122 95 106 (b)Single female pensioners 1979 73 60 60 60 58 1981 77 64 63 60 62 1987 85 80 70 68 69 1988 92 73 69 69 70 1989 82 85 73 67 66 1990–91 101 84 70 71 69 1992 112 92 78 76 70 1993 107 98 82 75 76 1994–95 109 96 83 78 83 1995–96 97 108 90 90 91 (c)Pensioner couples 1979 n/a 150 125 110 109 1981 n/a 145 132 114 117 1987 n/a 183 152 143 152 1988 n/a 194 158 141 125 1989 n/a 176 164 150 144 1990–91 n/a 202 178 156 139 1992 n/a 214 180 164 157 1993 n/a 219 187 166 162 1994–95 n/a 208 185 181 174 1995–96 n/a 235 198 170 158 Notes:
1. All amounts are in £s per week at July 1995 prices. They are rounded to the nearest £1, although estimates are not necessarily accurate to this level
2. All figures, and in particular figures for single male pensioners, should be treated with caution since they are based on small sample sizes
3. Estimates are for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single (non-cohabiting) person over State Pension Age (65 years or above for men and 60 years or above for women), or a couple (married or cohabiting) where the man, defined as the head, is over State Pension Age. Estimates for pensioner couples are broken down by the age of the man
4. Estimates marked 'n/a' are not applicable. Single men and couples are only defined as pensioners if the man is aged 65 years or above
5. All estimates relate to calendar years, except the combined calendar years 1990–91 and the financial years 1994–95 and 1995–96
6. Means-tested benefits are defined as Income Support (Supplementary Benefit prior to 1988), Family Credit (Family Income Support prior to 1988), Council Tax Benefit (from 1993), Community Charge Benefit (from 1988 to 1992) and Housing Benefit
Source:
The Pensioners' Incomes Series dataset, based on the Family Expenditure Survey
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§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the basic pension rate for a single person in 1999–2000 if it had been uprated in line with average earnings(a) in each year since 1980, (b) in 1998 and 1999 and (c) in 1999 only. [56013]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested is currently not available. In order to answer this question we need to know the increase both in the Retail Prices Index and in average earnings for the year to September 1998. While the former is available, the latter will not be available until mid December.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his current estimate of the proportion of pensioners entitled to income support who claim it; and what will be the corresponding proportion by the end of the year 2001–02 if take-up rises as assumed in his answer of 29 July 1998,Official Report, column 326. [56015]
§ Mr. DenhamTake-up of income support by pensioners is currently estimated to be between 61 per cent. and 70 per cent., measured by caseload. For costing purposes, we have assumed that take-up arising from the measures announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review will increase by about 13 percentage points by the end of 2001–02.
Note:
Estimates of current take-up are taken from Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 1996/97. Estimates of future take-up have been based upon Income Support forecasts following the changes announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, and information from the 1995/96 Family Resources Survey.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in which countries(a) United Kingdom state pensioners receive an increase in payments in line with United Kingdom residents and (b) no increases are paid. [55803]
§ Mr. DenhamUnited Kingdom State pensioners resident abroad receive pension increases in line with United Kingdom residents in countries with whom we have agreements. These are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), Barbados, Bermuda, The Channel Islands, Cyprus, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Israel, Jamaica, Malta, Mauritius, Philippines, Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA.
United Kingdom pensioners in any other country do not receive increases.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many British citizens received United Kingdom state pensions in(a) the EU, (b) the Commonwealth and (c) other countries in the last year for which figures are available. [56064]
§ Mr. DenhamThe number of pensioners in receipt of a United Kingdom State Pension living in(a) the EU, (b) the Commonwealth, and (c) other countries is (a) 204,150 (b) 476,701 (c) 162,640.