House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
140

Pensions Bill, continued

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

114

Clause  18,  page  8,  line  17,  at end add—

‘(3)
The Secretary of State must report annually on the extent to which employers

operating schemes defined under subsection (1) have reduced their

contributions.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that employers are not levelling down their existing

pension schemes.

Mr Mike O’Brien

139

Clause  18,  page  8,  line  17,  at end add—

‘(3)
A scheme does not fail to satisfy the quality requirement under this section merely

because the trustees or managers of the scheme may on any occasion refuse to

accept a contribution below an amount prescribed for the purposes of this section

on the grounds that it is below that amount.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The Amendment would enable money purchase occupational pension schemes to reject minor

amounts of contributions that it is not financially viable to accept, without affecting their ability to

satisfy the quality requirement. The Amendment provides for the amount that may be rejected to

be prescribed in regulations.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

93

Clause  19,  page  8,  line  35,  at end add—

‘(5)
The Secretary of State must report annually on the extent to which employers

operating schemes defined under subsection (1) have reduced their contribution.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that employers are not levelling down their existing

pension schemes.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

23

Clause  20,  page  9,  line  4,  leave out subsection (3).

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
141

Pensions Bill, continued

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

94

Clause  22,  page  9,  line  41,  at end add—

‘(5)
The Secretary of State must report annually on the extent to which employers

operating schemes defined under subsection (1) have reduced their contribution.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that employers are not levelling down their existing

pension schemes.

Mr Mike O’Brien

140

Clause  24,  page  10,  line  28,  at end add—

‘(8)
A scheme does not fail to satisfy the quality requirement under this section merely

because the trustees or managers of the scheme may on any occasion refuse to

accept a contribution below an amount prescribed for the purposes of this section

on the grounds that it is below that amount.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The Amendment would enable personal pension schemes to reject minor amounts of contributions

that it is not financially viable to accept, without affecting their ability to satisfy the quality re

quirement. The Amendment provides for the amount that may be rejected to be prescribed in reg

ulations.

Mr Mike O’Brien

126

Clause  26,  page  11,  line  2,  leave out ‘jobholder’ and insert ‘person’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This and amendments 128, 129 and 130 are related to New Clause 8 and enable wages to be de

ducted by employers for the purposes of paying a worker’s pension contributions in the case of a

worker without qualifying earnings who opts in to pension savings.

Mr Mike O’Brien

127

Clause  26,  page  11,  line  2,  leave out third ‘a’ and insert ‘an occupational pension’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is related to amendment 128. It preserves the position that clause 26 only applies

to occupational pension schemes.

Mr Mike O’Brien

128

Clause  26,  page  11,  line  3,  leave out ‘or 6(3)’ and insert ‘, 6(3) or [Workers without

qualifying earnings](2)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 126.

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
142

Pensions Bill, continued

Mr Mike O’Brien

129

Clause  26,  page  11,  line  3,  leave out ‘jobholder’s’ and insert ‘person’s’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 126.

Mr Mike O’Brien

130

Clause  26,  page  11,  line  4,  leave out ‘jobholder’s’ and insert ‘person’s’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 126.

Mr Mike O’Brien

131

Clause  27,  page  11,  line  15,  after ‘9’ insert ‘and [Workers without qualifying

earnings]’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is related to New Clause 8 and is for the purpose of extending the compliance re

gime to the duty imposed by that New Clause in relation to workers without qualifying earnings.

Mr Mike O’Brien

132

Clause  27,  page  11,  line  15,  at end add—

‘( )
In relation to section [Workers without qualifying earnings] this Chapter applies

as if references to a jobholder included references to a worker to whom that

section applies.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 131.

Mr Mike O’Brien

133

Clause  28,  page  12,  line  2,  after ‘8’ insert ‘and [Workers without qualifying

earnings]’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is related to New Clause 8. It enables the Secretary of State to make regulations

about the application of the New Clause in cases where an employer fails to meet obligations under

that clause.

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
143

Pensions Bill, continued

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

24

Clause  30,  page  13,  line  2,  at end add—

‘(g)
require the employer to pay interest in respect of any period for which

contributions remain unpaid.’.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

95

Clause  31,  page  13,  line  14,  leave out from ‘within’ to ‘after’ in line 15 and insert

‘three months’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that contributions are paid within a reasonable time

period.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

96

Clause  31,  page  13,  line  17,  at end insert—

‘(d)
if the contributions are not paid within one year of the due date a

requirement to pay interest of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower, on

unpaid relevant contributions.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that job-holders are adequately compensated for em

ployer non-compliance.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

97

Clause  36,  page  16,  line  29,  at end add—

‘(4)
The Secretary of State shall publish a report on the funding of the Pensions

Regulator Tribunal for references made under this section within 12 months of

the section coming into force.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the Pension Regulator has adequate funding to

successfully undertake its new role.

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
144

Pensions Bill, continued

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

63

Clause  45,  page  20,  line  6,  at end add—

‘(cb)
to fund the set-up costs incurred by the duties under Chapter 1 of Part 1

of the Pensions Act 2008 from the Consolidated Fund.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the additional cost incurred by the Pensions Reg

ulator during the set-up phase of its new statutory objective to maximise compliance with new em

ployer duties is paid by the taxpayer.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

98

Clause  46,  page  20,  line  31,  at end add—

‘(6)
An applicant for a job has the right not to be refused employment on grounds

relating to pension scheme membership.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that employers do not disciminate against job appli

cants on the basis of their existing or likely future membership of a pension scheme.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

99

Clause  50,  page  24,  line  10,  leave out from ‘State’ to ‘and’ and insert ‘shall

establish a money purchase scheme’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the variety of pension scheme established is on the

face of the bill and that its establishment is mandatory.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

25

Clause  50,  page  24,  line  10,  after ‘scheme’, insert ‘which shall commence

operation with effect from 1st April 2012’.

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
145

Pensions Bill, continued

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

26

Clause  51,  page  25,  line  15,  leave out subsection (5).

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

115

Clause  52,  page  25,  line  26,  leave out ‘panels are’ and insert ‘employers panel is’.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

27

Clause  52,  page  25,  line  26,  leave out ‘by order under section 50, or’.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

101

Clause  52,  page  25,  line  27,  at end insert—

‘(3A)
The members’ panel shall be comprised of members of the scheme nominated

and selected by a process including all the members of the scheme or an

organisation representing the members.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the members’ panel adequately represents the in

terests of members.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

64

Clause  52,  page  25,  line  28,  after ‘panel’, insert ‘and employers’ panel’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to provide the employers’s panel with the functions of appointing

members of the trustee corporation as well as the consumer panel.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

100

Clause  52,  page  25,  line  31,  at end add—

‘(6)
The Secretary of State must provide the panels with—

Public Bill Committee: 24th January 2008
146

Pensions Bill, continued

(a)
an annual report considering the impact of means-tested benefits on

members of the scheme established under section 50,

(b)
an annual report assessing the quality of qualifying schemes’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the panels have the information necessary to make

informed recommendations to the trustees.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

102

Clause  53,  page  25,  line  33,  leave out subsection (1) and insert—

‘(1)
Member contributions shall be limited to £10,000 in the first year of the scheme

and £3,600 for each following year’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that contribution limits are set at a reasonable level.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Miss Julie Kirkbride

Mr John Greenway

28

Clause  53,  page  25,  line  34,  at end insert ‘save that the employers’ contribution

shall be fixed at 3 per cent. of the amount of jobholders’ qualifying earnings in any pay

reference period.’.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

76

Clause  53,  page  25,  line  34,  at end insert ‘of £3,600’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for Amendment 77.

Mr Nigel Waterson

Andrew Selous

Mr Stewart Jackson

Mr John Greenway

Miss Julie Kirkbride

77

Clause  53,  page  25,  line  34,  at end insert—

‘(1A)
The Secretary of State must in each tax year from 2005 determine whether the

amount prescribed in subsection (1) has maintained its value.

(1B)
If the average earnings index (including bonuses) for the whole economy for

September of a year is higher than the index for the previous September, the

Secretary of State shall as soon as practicable make an order in relation to the

amount in section (1), increasing the amount, if the new index is higher, by the

same percentage as the amount of the increase of the index.’.

Member’s explanatory statement