Under separate policies, the husband's annual premium would be $1,658 and the wife's $1,461, for a total of $3,119.

On an annual premium of, say, £180.00 the credit charge per month works out at 90p.

Total annual premiums will be about $5 billion this year, down $188 million from 1993.

If he wanted to maintain the plan, annual premiums would be £27,808.

Supporters say it could reduce average annual premiums by $120.

The penalty for future years will be half of the annual premium they should have paid.

If 30 million people paid the $59 annual premium, the Government could collect nearly $1.8 billion a year.

They still pay 20 percent of the annual premium, with the company paying the rest.

In 1991, it says, annual premiums on a basic policy averaged $1,100 for a person 65 years old.

The net increase in annual premiums, it said, would average $110 a policy or $55 for each person covered.