The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Pensions

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions – 22 October 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions on 22nd October 1986.

    Mr. Wareing Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what, in the light of the recent European Court of Justice ruling in the case of Miss Marshall v. South West Hampshire area health authority, he plans to do to ensure that occupational pension schemes do not discriminate against women on grounds of either their sex or their part-time working.

    Mr. Major The Sex Discrimination Bill currently before Parliament would make it unlawful for a woman to be dismissed on grounds of age when a man of the same age and in comparable circumstances would not. This complies with the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the case referred to. The Government are considering the whole question of equal treatment for men and women in occupational pension schemes in the light of the recent European Community directive.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Pensions – 21 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Pensions on 21st July 1986.

    Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were receiving retirement pensions at the latest date for which information is available.

    Mr. Major The latest date for which information is available is September 1985, when the number of people receiving retirement pensions was in excess of 9,561,000.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions – 14 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions on 14th July 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he is satisfied with the present clearance rate of cases at the war pensions office at Norcross;
    (2) what is the average time of clearance of individual cases dealt with by the war pensions office at Norcross for the past five years for which figures are available.

    Mr. Major Claims for war pensions are complex and can involve looking back over a period of 40 years or more. Service and medical records have to be obtained and medical examinations may have to be arranged. Even straightforward claims can thus take several weeks. During 1984, retirements, ill-health and promotions among the medical staff at Norcross caused delays. Although still not entirely satisfactory, the position has gradually improved since then and the average clearance time during the quarter ended 31 March 1986 was 22.6 weeks.

    The following table shows the average time for clearance of war pensions claims at Norcross in the last quarter of the past five years.

    Quarter ended | Time in weeks

    31 December 1981 | 17.0
    31 December 1982 | 16.5
    31 December 1983 | 16.7
    31 December 1984 | 34.3
    31 December 1985 | 24.7

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensioners and Widows – 14th July 1986

    Below is the text of the Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensioners and Widows from 14 July 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to relax conditions to enable regular visitations of severely disabled war pensioners and elderly widows to increase.

    Mr. Major Arrangements for regular visiting by the war pensioners’ welfare service are at present being reviewed, in consultation with representatives of war pensioners and war widows. The central advisory committee on war pensions will be consulted before any changes are made. Any war pensioner or war widow who needs help may contact the war pensioners’ welfare service at any time.

    Mr. Kirkwood asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of increasing the £4 disregard applied to war pensioners who claim supplementary pension to the level of £15.

    Mr. Major The available data are not sufficiently accurate to enable a precise figure to be quoted, but the best estimte that can be made is that the cost of increasing the £4 war pensions disregard to £15 would be of the order of £4 million a year. This figure takes acount of the additional claims to supplementary benefit that would result from such a change, but does not allow for the cost of making an equivalent change to the housing benefit scheme.

    Mr. Kirkwood asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to increase the rate of pension to war widows and women aged 60 years and under in receipt of unemployability supplement or invalidity benefit; if he will estimate the cost of such a change; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major The rates will be increased on 28 July in line with price increases. The cost of the increase in war widows pensions is £2 million in a full year. The cost of the increase in invalidity benefit and unemployability supplement for women aged 60 and under is £3.5 million in a full year.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Pensions – 10 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Pensions on 10th July 1986.

    Mr. Andrew Bowden Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has of the additional annual cost of paying the level of retirement pension’ payable in the United Kingdom to British retirement and widowed pensioners aged 75 years and over living in all those territories not covered by a reciprocal agreement with the United Kingdom.

    Mr. Major The additional cost of paying pensions at today’s rates for a full year to all British retirement and widowed pensioners aged 75 years and over living in countries with which the United Kingdom does not have a reciprocal agreement providing for pension increases is estimated to be approximately £46.4 million.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions – 8 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions on 8th July 1986.

    Mr. Ashley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in what way, and for how long, the war pensions are affected of a person in receipt of (a) a war disability and (b) war retirement pension, who is sent to prison.

    Mr. Major Payments of war disablement pension are normally suspended during imprisonment following conviction. If the war pensioner is married, half the basic pension plus the dependency allowance is normally paid to his wife. On release the pension is usually restored and arrears of one year’s basic pension (or arrears for the period of imprisonment if less than a year) are paid, less any amount paid to his wife during the arrears period.

    I assume that by “war retirement pension” the right hon. Member has in mind service pensions and service retired pay. These are not part of the war pensions provisions, but are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. I understand that his normal practice is to allow pensioners to retain these pensions during imprisonment.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions – 4 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions on 4th July 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the additional full-year costs of advancing the date of qualification for retirement pension to the beginning of the week within which the qualifying birthday falls.

    Mr. Major To advance the date of qualification for state retirement pension in this way would entail paying pensions for periods for which no entitlement exists, because the qualifying birthday is the minimum age at which state retirement pension becomes payable. The gross full year cost would be in the order of £20 million on the benefit rates applicable from July 1986.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions – 18 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions on 18th June 1986.

    Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what percentage the war pensions budget has been reduced in each of the last five years due to the deaths of war pensioners and war widows; and if he has made any estimate of the likely reduction in 1986-87.

    Mr. Major There have been no reductions in the war pensions budget over the last five years. Although the number of war pensioners and war widows has been decreasing – by 18 per cent. over the period 1980–81 to 1985–86 – this has been more than offset by the effect of annual upratings and by real improvements to the structure of the benefit. Expenditure per beneficiary was 19 per cent. higher in real terms at the end of the period than at the beginning.

    On the assumptions underlying the 1986 public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9702, Vol. II, part 3.15), expenditure on war pensions will be 2 per cent. higher in 1986-87 than in 1985-86, despite a 3.4 per cent. fall in the number of beneficiaries.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions – 12 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions on 12th June 1986.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will issue guidance to his Department’s offices requesting them to inform those pensioners whose pensions are paid quarterly into bank accounts of any changes in the rate of their pensions when they take place.

    Mr. Major The pension accounts of pensioners who have their pensions paid directly into bank accounts are maintained by the Department’s Central Pensions Branch at Newcastle which informs all such pensioners of the new rate payable about the time of every up-rating of pensions and notifies other changes in the amount payable on an individual basis when they occur.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Pensions – 9 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Pensions on 9th June 1986.

    Ms. Richardson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer of 15 May to the hon. Member for Barking, Official Report, columns 527-530, whether the retirement pension of those 5,733 people recorded as people in transit will be paid at current or frozen rates.

    Mr. Major The 5,733 people shown as “Countries not recorded (people in transit)” were known to be moving from one country to another but their new countries of residence were not included in the Department’s computer records at the time when the count was taken. Whether their pensions will be payable at current or frozen rates will depend upon the new country of residence.

    Ms. Richardson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Barking, 15 May, Official Report, columns 527-530, how 828 retirement pensioners whose address is not known can receive a retirement pension abroad; and into what categories they fall.

    Mr. Major As these 828 pensioners have not provided their current addresses the appropriate rate of pension cannot be decided nor can payment be made. Information on the categories into which they fall is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    Ms. Richardson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Barking, 15 May, Official Report, columns 527-530, if he will set out the rules governing payment of benefit in those countries where some benefits are paid at current and others at partially unfrozen rates; and how many of the people listed as resident in each of those countries received their pension at current and at partially unfrozen rates.

    Mr. Major Current rates of pension are payable in all the countries listed as those where benefits are paid at current or partially unfrozen rates, except in Bermuda, Jamaica, and United States of America. In these three countries all increases since the respective agreements came into effect are payable, that is, from these dates:

    Country | Date

    Bermuda | 1 November 1969
    Jamaica | 1 October 1972
    United States of America | 28 September 1969

    In consequence, the great majority of pensions in these three countries are paid at current rates, but the precise numbers of people receiving full rate pensions are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    Ms. Richardson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Barking, 15 May, Official Report, columns 527–530, if he will separate the figure for the average pension paid in countries where no increases are paid into the average paid to single people, to married men and to married women, respectively.

    Mr. Major The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    Ms. Richardson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Barking, 15 May, Official Report, columns 527–530, whether the numbers of beneficiaries listed include dependants; and if he will list separately the number of dependants.

    Mr. Major The numbers of beneficiaries listed do not include dependants. The number of these would be small, but precise figures are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.