Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 6:01 pm on 18 June 1985.
The House should have the benefit of greater detail about what the right hon. Gentleman is proposing. Nine years after heartily endorsing SERPS—together with the actuarial estimates about its installation and continual running—the right hon. Gentleman said recently that he wanted the qualifying period to be extended from 20 to 30 years. That would grossly reduce the effectiveness of the scheme, but that is what he told the pension fund that he spoke to a couple of months ago. He also said that he did not want anyone to be able to claim under the age of 65, including women. He also said that other changes for widows would be desirable. If we are to have a general discussion, it would be worth while for everyone to know about that.