Ms Roma Burke:

The Deputy asked about the impact if we assume a higher rate of employment among older people. The first thing to say is that I am very proud that my mother and father, who were both self-employed, decided to work on beyond State pension age. I have been able to see first hand the very positive impact of that and a real work ethos. I understand that some people are not able to keep working but in the case of my parents, they are both healthy and well and actively enjoying later life. I started the summary from the technical committee setting out the cost of the State pension and how it increases over various periods. By the time we get to 2050, the cost of the State pension as a percentage of modified gross national income will be 7.9%. If we assume the rate of employment among older people, that is, those in the 55-74 age bracket, will increase by 10%, that would reduce the cost of the State pension by 0.5%, from 7.9% to 7.4%. It is a relatively significant impact on the cost of the State pension.