asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated percentage of the population of the United Kingdom who will have reached retirement age at 1st January 1980; and what increase this will show over the 10-year period from 1st January 1970.

The estimated number of persons who will be of pensionable age in the United Kingdom in mid-1980 is 9,279 thousand and this represents 16·6 per cent. of the total population. This estimate also represents an increase of 4·1 per cent. over the number in mid-1970 when there were 8,912 thousand persons of pensionable age-16·1 per cent. of the total population.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in the United Kingdom are known to have reached the age of 18 years in the year 1970 and are expected to do so in the years 1980 to 1990.

The estimate of the number of 18 year-olds in the United Kingdom in mid-1970 was 764·0 thousand and the corresponding estimated mid-year numbers for the period 1980–1990, derived from the mid-1976 based projection, are as follows: