Treasury written question – answered at on 19 July 2004.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the (a) state pension for a single person and (b) average weekly earnings were in each year from 1974 to 2003.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Alan Hurst, dated
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much the (a) state pension for a single person and (b) the average weekly wage earnings were in each year from 1974 to 2003. (184495)
Average earnings are estimated from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for NES tables. The NES does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
The attached table shows the average gross weekly wage and basic pension for a single person from 1974 to 2003.
The NES, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in Great Britain. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes, but because of its sampling frame, it has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
Average gross weekly earnings | Basic state pension | |
---|---|---|
1974 | 41.7 | 10.0 |
1975 | 54.0 | (22)11.6 |
(23)13.3 | ||
1976 | 64.2 | 15.3 |
1977 | 70.2 | 17.5 |
1978 | 79.1 | 19.5 |
1979 | 89.6 | 23.3 |
1980 | 110.2 | 27.2 |
1981 | 124.9 | 29.6 |
1982 | 136.5 | 32.9 |
1983 | 147.4 | 34.1 |
1984 | 159.3 | 35.8 |
1985 | 171.0 | 38.3 |
1986 | 184.7 | 38.7 |
1987 | 198.9 | 39.5 |
1988 | 218.4 | 41.2 |
1989 | 239.7 | 43.6 |
1990 | 263.1 | 46.9 |
1991 | 284.7 | 52.0 |
1992 | 304.8 | 54.2 |
1993 | 317.3 | 56.1 |
1994 | 325.7 | 57.6 |
1995 | 337.6 | 58.9 |
1996 | 351.6 | 61.2 |
1997 | 367.6 | 62.5 |
1998 | 385.8 | 64.7 |
1999 | 401.5 | 66.8 |
2000 | 419.7 | 67.5 |
2001 | 444.2 | 72.5 |
2002 | 464.7 | 75.5 |
2003 | 475.8 | 77.5 |
Notes:
1. Average gross weekly earnings are for adult full-time employees whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence. For the years 1974 to 1982 the estimates shown are for men aged 21 and over, and women aged 18 and over.
2. The basic state pension was increased in the following months
1974—July
1975—(22) April and (23) November
1976—
1986—July
1987—
Source:
ONS New Earnings Survey.
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