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MPs' salaries and allowances MPs are paid a basic annual salary of £55,118 (from 1 April 2002). This is intended, according to the 1964 Report of the Committee on the Remuneration of Ministers and MPs, to enable them 'efficiently to discharge the duties of the service, without undue financial worry and to live and maintain themselves and their families at a modest but honourable level'. Like everyone else, MPs' income is subject to income tax. On 10 July 1996 the House of Commons agreed a recommendation of the Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) that an MP's salary should be £43,000 for the period 1 July 1996 to 31 March 1997. The House also agreed the SSRB's recommended mechanism for the annual uprating of MPs' salaries, based on the average percentage increase of the mid-point of the Senior Civil Service pay bands. A report from the SSRB in March 2001 proposed that the salaries of MPs, Ministers and other paid office holders should be increased, because they had fallen behind those of their comparators in the public and private sector. The report was debated and agreed to by the Commons on 5 July 2001. It recommended that: MPs' pay should be increased by £2,000 over and above the normal formula increase in both 2001 and 2002 Ministers and other office-holders in the Commons would benefit from this adjustment. They should only get the normal formula increase on the salaries they get for their office. The Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers should draw their full entitlement (they had not done so between 1997 and 2001). In February 2002 the SSRB recommended a significant increase in Civil Service pay, resulting in a further £2000 increase in pay for MPs and Ministers. MPs are also eligible for pensions - there is a compulsory contributory scheme. Pensions are normally payable at age 65, for both men and women, or later for those retiring from the Commons after their 65th birthday. They may be paid earlier, if, for example, an MP has retired early because of ill health. Allowances  Since 1969, MPs have been entitled to an allowance for secretarial and general office expenses. The allowance was later increased to enable members to employ a research assistant. The SSRB report, agreed to by the Commons on 5 July 2001, recommended radical changes to the way in which MPs office costs are met. These included the following:  Staff salaries should be centrally administered, with MPs permitted to employ up to the equivalent of 3 full-time staff - up to £61,980 (£72,310 for those with London constituencies) from April 2002 The Office Costs Allowance should be abolished and replaced with an Incidental Expenses Provision - £18,234 from April 2002 IT equipment should be centrally supplied and maintained There are a number of other allowances, including a supplement for London MPs and, for provincial MPs, subsistence allowances and allowances for second homes. MPs are also entitled to free stationery, postage and inland telephone calls from within the House of Commons, and to travel or car mileage allowances.   Further Information - Members' Pay Pensions and Allowances and Ministerial Salaries (Parliamentary Factsheets in pdf format) and Parliamentary Pay and Allowances - Current Rates (House of Commons Library Research Paper in pdf format)