To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average pension payment to a member of the (a) Gurkha Pension Scheme and (b) Armed Forces Pension Scheme was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (284418)

The latest available figures for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) relate to financial year 2007-08. This period has therefore been used for the figures given for the average monthly payments made under both schemes:

Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS): £122.64

AFPS: £578.41

These figures are based upon average pensions paid to former members of the armed forces, their spouses, and dependants. These averages are not comparable because of different lengths of service, different rank structure between the Brigade of Gurkhas and the wider Army and, chiefly, because Gurkhas begin drawing on their pensions much earlier than British soldiers with equivalent service. For example, a Gurkha Rifleman or Corporal with 15 years service (approximately 85 per cent. of those receiving GPS payments) can claim an immediate pension after 15 years service (from age 33) whereas equivalent service under the AFPS would not attract pension payments until age 60.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department calculated its estimate of the £1.5 billion required to give Gurkhas on the Gurkha Pension Scheme a retrospective pension equivalent to their UK counterparts. (284419)

£1.5 billion is an estimate of the capitalised cost of providing retired Gurkhas with Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) equivalent pension benefits for all pensionable service before 1 July 1997.

The estimate was calculated by the Government Actuary’s Department and identifies the additional capitalised cost that would be incurred if benefits of equivalent value to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme were granted for all pensionable service before 1 July 1997, on the same terms as provided for post-1 July 1997 service in the Gurkha Offer to Transfer exercise. The estimated cost is based on the assumptions and methodology applied in the Gurkha Offer to Transfer, and assumes that the profile of Gurkha pensioners and dependants who retired before 1 July 1997 is similar to those that retired post 1 July 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the Gurkha pension scheme to extend eligibility to those veterans who left the Brigade prior to 1997; and if he will make a statement. (284651)

Gurkha veterans who left the Army before 1 July 1997 are already eligible for benefits from the Gurkha Pension Scheme.

The hon. Member may have in mind the question of whether such individuals should be eligible for benefits from the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in the same way as those who left the Army on or after 1 July 1997. The High Court agreed in July 2008 that it was fair and reasonable for the Department to use this date as a cut-off point for eligibility for the pensions offer in 2007-08.

Although annual payments to British soldiers will eventually be higher than Gurkhas, with the same 15 years service, Gurkhas pensions begin paying out much earlier (as young as 33) whereas the British soldiers preserved rights do not become payable until age 60.