To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average monthly payment to members of (a) the Gurkha pension scheme, and (b) the Armed Forces pension scheme. [HL4750]

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—£122.64; and

AFPS—£578.41.

The 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.