Amendments proposed to the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill - continued	House of Commons
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Mr Stephen Timms

121

Clause     20,     page     17,     line     12,     at end insert—

    '(11) In subsections (4)(b), (5)(c) and (6), the reference to the party who is the transferor is to the party to whose rights the provision relates.'.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

172

Clause     22,     page     18,     line     11,     at end insert—

    '(1A) Such regulations shall ensure that all such calculations and verifications are based on the methodology currently accepted by the actuarial profession for the purpose of valuing pension assets and liabilities, and that no such calculation or verification shall include any amounts in respect of any pension benefits other than those which the rules of the relevant pension scheme at the relevant time oblige the trustees or managers of such a scheme to pay out to pensioners or their dependants.'.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

173

Clause     24,     page     20,     leave out lines 6 to 11.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

174

Clause     25,     page     20,     line     39,     leave out 'may' and insert 'shall'.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

175

Clause     27,     page     21,     line     40,     leave out from 'and' to end of line 42 and insert 'any pension debit charged to a person's pension rights which would otherwise have been transferred to the person entitled to a pension credit shall be restored to the transferor.'.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

176

Schedule     5,     page     76,     line     6,     at end insert—

'(c) a stakeholder pension scheme;

(d) a pension scheme held in the form of units in a unit trust, or shares in an investment trust or in an open-ended investment company which is approved as a pension vehicle by the Inland Revenue.'.

   

Mr Ian Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

147

Schedule     5,     page     76,     line     36,     at end add—

    '(2A) The trustees or managers of the scheme from which a pension credit to which this paragraph applies derives may discharge their liability in respect of the credit by paying the amount of the credit to the person responsible for a qualifying arrangement with a view to acquiring rights under that arrangement for the person entitled to the credit if—

(a) the qualifying arrangement is not disqualified as a destination for the credit,

(b) the person responsible for that arrangement is able and willing to accept payment in respect of the credit, and

(c) payment is made with the consent of the person entitled to the credit, or in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State.

    (2B) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2), no account is to be taken of consent of the person entitled to the pension credit unless—

(a) it is given after receipt of notice in writing of an offer to discharge liability in respect of the credit by making a payment under sub-paragraph (3), or

(b) it is not withdrawn within 7 days of receipt of such notice.'.

   

Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

177

Schedule     5,     page     78,     line     14,     at end insert—

'(c) a stakeholder pension scheme;

(d) units in a unit trust, or shares in an investment trust or in an open-ended investment company held in a form approved by the Inland Revenue as a pension vehicle.'.

   

Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

178

Schedule     5,     page     79,     line     19,     leave out 'as may be determined in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State.'.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

179

Clause     28,     page     23,     leave out lines     26 to 30 and insert—

    '68D. That part of the rights to future benefits of a member of an occupational, personal or other approved pension scheme which consists of safeguarded rights as defined in section 68A should not be subject to pension sharing within the meaning of Parts III and IV of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999.'.

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Mr Ian Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

146

Clause     33,     page     32,     line     37,     at end insert—

'(e) provision for the Secretary of State to draw up a scale of recommended charges, following consultation with representatives of the pensions industry and other interested parties.'.

   

Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

180

Clause     33,     page     32,     line     46,     leave out 'is attributed to the transferor' and insert 'will be divided equally between the transferor and the transferee'.

   

Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

181

Clause     33,     page     33,     line     13,     at end add—

    '(8) In the event of a dispute between either of the parties on the one side and a person or persons responsible for a pension arrangement on the other as to what is a reasonable or acceptable level of costs or charges including legal costs, the decision of the Pensions Ombudsman shall be final.'.

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Mr Stephen Timms

122

Clause     34,     page     33,     line     26,     at end insert—

    '( ) Any provision of, or under, an Act which makes benefits under a pension scheme established under an Act a charge on, or payable out of—

(a) the Consolidated Fund,

(b) the Scottish Consolidated Fund, or

(c) the Consolidated Fund of Northern Ireland,

    shall be treated as including any benefits under the scheme which are attributable (directly or indirectly) to a pension credit which derives from rights to benefits charged on, or payable out of, that fund.'.

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Mr Stephen Timms

123

Clause     40,     page     37,     line     34,     leave out subsection (6).

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Mr David Rendel
Mr Mark Oaten

102

Clause     44,     page     39,     line     39,     leave out 'and' and insert 'or

( ) that the person was of pensionable age and in receipt of income support; and'.

   

Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

109

Clause     44,     page     39,     line     40,     after 'condition', insert 'that person or the deceased'.

   

Mr David Rendel
Mr Mark Oaten

187

*Clause     44,     page     40,     line     8,     after '(2)', insert 'Subject to subsection (4) below.

   

Mr David Rendel
Mr Mark Oaten

188

*Clause     44,     page     40,     line     12,     at end insert—

    '(3) A bereavement payment shall also be payable to a man who before the appointed day—

(a) made or purported to make a claim for a widow's payment under section 36 in its form prior to the appointed day;

(b) indicated to the Benefits Agency that he would have made such a claim had he been eligible to claim the payment or an equivalent payment for widowers; or

(c) lodged an application at the European Commission of Human Rights or the European Court of Human Rights complaining that his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms had been violated by the non-availability for widowers of a payment equivalent to the widow's payment.'.

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Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Quentin Davies

110

Clause     45,     page     40,     line     39,     after first 'the', insert 'surviving spouse or the'.

   

Mr David Rendel
Mr Mark Oaten

189

*Clause     45,     page     41,     line     27,     after '(5)', insert 'Subject to subsection (6) below'.

   

Mr David Rendel
Mr Mark Oaten

190

*Clause     45,     page     41,     line     35,     at end insert—

    '(6) A widowed parent's allowance shall be payable for a period falling after a man who satisfies the conditions set out in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above—

(a) made or purported to make a claim for a widowed mother's allowance under section 37 above;

(b) indicated to the Benefits Agency that he would have made such a claim had he been eligible to claim the allowance or an equivalent allowance for widowers; or

(c) lodged an application at the European Commission of Human Rights or the European Court of Human Rights complaining that his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms had been violated by the non-availability for widowers of an allowance equivalent to the widowed mother's allowance.'.

   

Mr David Rendel
Mr Mark Oaten

191

*Clause     45,     page     41,     line     38,     at end insert—

    '(1A) This section also applies where a man, who was over the age of 45 but under pensionable age at his wife's death, before the appointed day—

a) made or purported to make a claim for a widow's pension under section 38 above;

b) indicated to the Benefits Agency that he would have made such a claim had he been eligible to claim the pension or an equivalent pension for widowers; or

c) lodged an application at the European Commission of Human Rights or the European Court of Human Rights complaining that his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms had been violated by the non-availability for widowers of a pension equivalent to the widow's pension.

    (1B) A man who satisifies the conditions set out in subsection (1A) above shall be entitled to a bereavement allowance.'.

Prepared 18 Mar 1999