HC Deb 11 February 1999 vol 325 cc380-1W
Mr. Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of people have worked for(a) 0 to five years, (b) six to 10 years, (c) 11 to 15 years,(d) 16 to 20 years, (e) 21 to 25 years, (f) 26 to 30 years and (g) 30 years or more of their working life; and if these data can be presented for (i) (1) men and (2) women and (ii) those in each income quintile. [68635]

Mr. Timms

[holding answer 1 February 1999]: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

Men aged 54 at 5 April 1996
Percentage
Number of years worked All employed or self-employed Self-employed at any time Employed earners only
0–5 10 10
6–10 4 4
11–15 4 1 3
16–20 4 1 3
21–25 5 1 3
26–30 6 2 4
30 or more 66 20 48
Total 100 26 74

Women aged 54 at 5 April 1996
Percentage
Employed earners only Reckonable earnings from class 1 NICs during 1995–96
Number of years worked Nil £l–£4,575 £4,576–19,151 £9,152–£13,727 £13,728–£18,303 £18,304 and over
21–25 6 2 2 1
26–30 6 3 4 2 1 1
30 or more 6 3 4 4 2 2
Total 57 10 13 8 4 3

Notes:

  1. 1. The answer is based on those aged 54 years old at 5 April 1996. This is the only age group at present on which full annual details of their National Insurance (NI) record is known, since the commencement of their working life i.e. aged 16 during the 1957/58 tax year.
  2. 2. Those shown in the tables are those who have had earnings from employment or self-employment and paid National Insurance Contributions (NICs) during a tax year. It does not therefore contain details of anyone who may have had earnings below the weekly lower earnings limit for NICs in any one tax year or other source of income.
  3. 3. It self-employed NICs have been paid in any tax year then details of the number of years worked, self-employed or employed, have been shown in the self-employed at any one time column.
  4. 4. Those who have had employed earnings and paid NICs during their working life to date have been shown in each earnings quintile by the amount of earnings on which NI has been paid during the tax year 1995–96. The upper earnings limit for 1995–6 was £22,880.
  5. 5. Percentages have been calculated as percentages of all 54 year olds which are held on the LLMDB. This may include some people who do not now reside in Great Britain although at some point in their working life have paid into the National Insurance system.
  6. 6. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
  7. 7. "—" denotes less than 0.5 per cent.

Source:

Lifetime Labour Market Database (LLMDB) which contains a 1 per cent. sample of the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS) taken at February 1997.