To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the amount of retired pay receivable by a lieutenant-colonel promoted from the ranks retiring respectively (a) before and (b) after 1 April 1988.

For a late-entry lieutenant colonel with 34 years reckonable service the amounts of retired pay are as follows:

Date of retirement	Original award £ per annum	Current retired pay £ per annum
31 March 1988	11,105	14,033
1 April 1988	14,185	17,925

Since 1 April 1988 late-entrant lieutenant-colonels have been paid on the officers main scale as opposed to the lower rates previously in issue. They also qualify for increased pension entitlements. There are no plans to change pension entitlements retrospectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to increase the retired pay of majors and lieutenant-colonels promoted from the ranks who retired before 1 April 1988 so that they are more in line with the retired pay of those who retired after that date.

The retired pay of majors promoted through the ranks is calculated on the same basis irrespective of the date of retirement. There are no plans for retrospective changes to the pension entitlement of late-entry lieutenant-colonels.