House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

91

House of Commons

Tuesday 22nd January 2008

Public Bill Committee

New Amendments handed in are marked thus

Other Amendments not tabled within the required notice period are marked thus

Pensions Bill

Note

The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order of the

Committee [15th January].

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

1

Clause  1,  page  1,  line  9,  leave out ‘and under 75’.

Mr Mike O’Brien

116

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  4,  after ‘jobholder’ insert ‘, without ceasing to be employed

by the employer,’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that an employer's ability to terminate employment is

not fettered by the continuing duty to maintain qualifying scheme membership.

Public Bill Committee: 22nd January 2008
92

Pensions Bill, continued

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

11

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  4,  leave out ‘, or make any omission,’.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

78

Clause  3,  page  2,  line  18,  leave out from ‘reached’ to end of line and insert ‘the age

of of 50’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that everybody who is automatically enrolled into the

personal accounts system will benefit financially.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

13

Clause  3,  page  2,  line  27,  leave out subsection (5) and insert—

‘( )
Subsection (2) does not apply if there are prescribed arrangements under which

the jobholder is entitled to become an active member, with effect from the

automatic enrolment date, of a qualifying scheme which is a personal pension

scheme of a prescribed description.

( )
An order will be made under this section to prescribe the terms under which it is

applicable, and the basis on which its application may be withdrawn with respect

to specific scheme providers or employers.’.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

12

Clause  3,  page  2,  line  27,  leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘shall within three months of

this Act receiving Royal Assent.’.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

79

Clause  3,  page  2,  line  36,  at end add—

‘(8)
The Secretary of State shall publish an annual report on the impact of means-

tested benefits on automatically enrolled members of the scheme established

under section 50’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that means-tested benefits are not having an adverse

Public Bill Committee: 22nd January 2008
93

Pensions Bill, continued

effect on those automatically enrolled into personal acccounts.

Mr Mike O’Brien

117

Clause  4,  page  3,  line  1,  leave out subsections (2) and (3).

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to enable the arrangements that must be made to automatically

enrol a jobholder following a postponement of automatic enrolment under this clause to be of the

same description as arrangements for automatic enrolment under clause 3(2).

Mr Mike O’Brien

118

Clause  4,  page  3,  line  8,  leave out from beginning to ‘within’ in line 10 and insert

‘Where a person becomes an active member of a scheme in accordance with regulations

under this section, the employer must not take any action, or make any omission, by which

the person ceases to be an active member of the scheme’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to impose directly rather than through regulations a duty on the

employer to maintain membership of the scheme that a jobholder was enrolled into following a

postponement under this clause for the minimum period. That period would be prescribed in reg

ulations.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

14

Clause  4,  page  3,  line  15,  at end add—

‘(7)
The length of any such postponement shall not exceed 6 months.’.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

80

Clause  5,  page  3,  line  33,  leave out subsection (6) and insert ‘The automatic re-

enrolment date shall be 1st April of each year’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that administration of the system is easier for employ

ers to and to reduce the chances of inadvertent non-compliance.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

15

Clause  5,  page  3,  line  34,  leave out from ‘that’ to end of line 35 and insert ‘fall at

Public Bill Committee: 22nd January 2008
94

Pensions Bill, continued

the beginning of the tax year in any relevant year for all jobholders.’.

Mr Mike O’Brien

119

Clause  5,  page  3,  line  36,  leave out ‘(2)’ and insert ‘(6)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to correct the reference to the regulatory power for setting au

tomatic re-enrolment dates.

Mr Mike O’Brien

120

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  6,  leave out subsection (4).

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is related to amendment 122. It removes the restriction on a jobholder giving no

tice to opt in to an automatic enrolment scheme more than once every twelve months.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

70

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  12,  at end insert—

‘(5A)
The regulations must provide for the notice—

(a)
to include information about the effect in relation to jobholders of giving

notice under this section, and

(b)
to be signed by the jobholder’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that, in situations where a jobholder seeks to opt in to

a qualifying scheme, a notice is signed in writing by the jobholder.

Mr Mike O’Brien

121

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  15,  after ‘qualifying’ insert ‘scheme which is a’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to attract the appropriate definitions in clause 77.

Mr Mike O’Brien

122

Clause  6,  page  4,  line  17,  at end add—

‘(7)
Subsections (8) and (9) apply where a jobholder becomes an active member of an

automatic enrolment scheme in pursuance of a notice under this section and,

within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which that notice was

given—

(a)
ceases to be an active member of that scheme, and

(b)
gives the employer a further notice under this section.

(8)
The further notice does not have effect to require the employer to arrange for the

jobholder to become an active member of an automatic enrolment scheme.

Public Bill Committee: 22nd January 2008
95

Pensions Bill, continued

(9)
But any arrangements the employer makes for the jobholder to become, within

that period, an active member of such a scheme must be made in accordance with

regulations under this section.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is related to amendment 120. It enables an employer to choose not to accept a

notice from a jobholder to opt in more than once every twelve months, but where the employer

chooses to accept the notice, the arrangements for enrolment prescribed under this clause must be

followed.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

71

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  25,  after ‘refunded’, insert ‘to the jobholder’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that, in situations when a jobholder opts out of an auto-

enrolment scheme, any contributions made by the jobholder are refunded to the jobholder and not

to any other party.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

72

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  28,  after ‘refunded’, insert ‘to the employer’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 71.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

81

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  39,  at end add—

‘(c)
to be given in writing by the jobholder’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that opting out is genuinely a decision taken by the

worker.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

82

Clause  7,  page  4,  line  39,  at end add—

‘(c)
to be registered personally with the enforcement body by the jobholder’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that opting out is genuinely a decision taken by the

Public Bill Committee: 22nd January 2008
96

Pensions Bill, continued

worker.

Mr Mike O’Brien

123

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  2,  at end insert—

‘( )
for all workers to whom section [Workers without qualifying earnings]

applies to be given information about the effect of that section in relation

to them;’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment relates to New Clause 8. It would require regulations to be made for the provision

of information to workers without qualifying earnings who choose to opt into pension savings.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

83

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  7,  leave out paragraph (c) and insert—

‘(c)
that every jobholder shall be entitled to one-to-one generic advice either

by phone or in person;

(d)
that the advice shall be publicly funded; and

(e)
that the advice shall be independent’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that jobholders can make an informed decision about

whether personal accounts are likely to leave them better off.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

16

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  7,  at end add—

‘(3)
The information so given must include whether the jobholder is likely to benefit

by reason of being auto-enrolled.

(4)
For the purposes of this section ‘benefit’ shall be defined as the jobholder

recovering all contributions to the scheme as well as an additional return the

extent of which the Secretary of State shall by regulation define.’.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

84

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  7,  at end add—

‘(3)
An order by which Section 50(1) comes into force at any time may not be made

before the establishment of a network of independent financial advice centres.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that jobholders can make an informed decision about

whether personal accounts are likely to leave them better off.

Public Bill Committee: 22nd January 2008
97

Pensions Bill, continued

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

85

Clause  8,  page  5,  line  7,  at end add—

‘(3)
The funding for information provided under subsection (1) must be equivalent in

value to no less than 0.05% of all money saved through the personal accounts

scheme.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that jobholders can make an informed decision about

whether personal accounts are likely to leave them better off.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

135


Clause  9,  page  5,  line  8,  at end insert ‘or HM Revenue and Customs’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to allow HMRC or the Pensions Regulator to collect information

from employers, so that administrative costs do not disproportionately burden small businesses.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

136


Clause  9,  page  5,  line  10,  after ‘Regulator’, insert ‘or HM Revenue and Customs’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 135.

Mr Mike O’Brien

124

Clause  9,  page  5,  line  12,  at end insert ‘and [Workers without qualifying

earnings]’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment relates to New Clause 8. It enables the Secretary of State to provide for the Pen

sions Regulator to be given information by employers about action to comply with the duty im

posed by the New Clause.

Mr Mike O’Brien

125

Clause  10,  page  5,  line  24,  leave out from ‘that’ to ‘until’ in line 26 and insert

‘sections 2 to 7 and [Workers without qualifying earnings] do not apply in the case an

employer of any description’.

Member’s explanatory statement