§ Mr. LilleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are(a) active members, (b) deferred members and (c) retired members of employers' contributory pension schemes. [46922]
§ Mr. McCartneyInformation is not available on the number of deferred or retired members of employer contributory schemes (that is, a scheme where there is an employee contribution—"contributory scheme"). Information from the Government Actuary's survey of Occupational Pension Schemes (1995) shows 8.9 million active members in contributory schemes. In addition, it is estimated that there are 1.6 million active members of Group Personal Pension schemes (where the employee makes a contribution) and 1.5 million where the employer makes a contribution in addition to the employee.
Information is available on the membership profile of occupational pension schemes (both contributory and non-contributory):
Occupational pension membership 1999–2000 Members Million Active 10.5 Retired 6.2 Deferred 7.3 Notes:
1. The information on active members and retired members (ie those in receipt of an occupational pension) is drawn from the Family Resources Survey 1999–2000.
2. The number of deferred members is estimated from the difference between active/retired members and total scheme membership. This estimate is subject to a degree of error due to the differing data sources used.