HC Deb 22 January 2002 vol 378 cc726-7W
Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme of providing widowed spouses of post-retirement marriages with a pension based on all the pensionable service of the service men and women. [27199]

Mr. Ingram

Post-retirement widow and widower pensions (PRWP) were introduced as a requirement of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975. Provision was made in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) for the payment of pensions to widow (er)s of service pensioners who married (or remarried) after retirement, but this change benefited only the widows of those giving service on or after 6 April 1978, and the widowers of those giving service on or after 6 April 1989. Only service on or after those dates was taken into account when calculating the level of pension. Against this background, it would cost in the order of £50 million to extend PRWP's to all current and deferred AFPS pensioners. This would be a one-off cost based on a broad actuarial estimate.

There is no distinction between service men and public sector employees with regard to the fact that the PRWP only applies to those with service on or after 6 April 1978, or 6 April 1989. It has been the long-standing policy of successive Governments that discretionary changes to improve the benefits from public service pensions schemes should be implemented from a current date for future service only. To extend the post-retirement marriage concession to survivors of members of all public service occupational schemes would cost between £300 million and £500 million.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what formula is used for the annual uprating of armed forces pensions. [28868]

Mr. Ingram

[holding answer 21 January 2002]: Pensions which are already in payment are increased annually in line with the retail prices index under the terms of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (Pensions Increase) Order.

The increase in rate of pension payable to those who retire each year is broadly in line with annual pay increases. Armed forces pensions are not based on individual earnings but on a representative rate of pension for each rank. This 'band of brothers' approach ensures that all those who leave in the same year in the same rank and with the same number of years' service, receive the same pension. The representative rates of pension are linked to 'spot' rates of pay for each of the ranks. Annual increases in the spot rates of pay automatically increase the representative rates of pension based on them.