§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers took early retirement in(a) 1970, (b) 1980 and (c) 1999; if he will list the most frequently cited reasons for taking early retirement; and what was the cost to public funds of granting such early retirement. [119770]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisEarly retirement falls into two categories: ill-health and premature retirement. Full-time teachers taking early retirement from the maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special sector in England in 1980, 1990, 1997 and 1999 are as follows:
Calendar year Ill-health Premature Total 1980 1,000 3,700 4,700 1990 4,000 8,100 12,100 1997 4,400 14,100 18,500 1999 2,100 2,700 4,700 Note:
Totals may not add to component parts because of rounding
Retirement data are not available for 1970; premature retirement was not introduced until 1977. The number of teachers taking ill-health and premature retirement was much higher during the 1990s than in previous years. The conditions for awarding an ill-health or premature retirement were changed during 1997 and as a result the numbers of early retirements had fallen by 1999.
Premature retirement can be awarded because of redundancy or employer efficiency gains; ill-health retirement includes reasons of injury or illness (physical and mental).
The capitalised additional cost of an ill-health retirement was recently estimated to be on average in the order of £50,000-£60,000 when compared with preserved benefits if the individual had simply resigned. The figure for premature retirements is estimated to be in the order of £30,000-£40,000.