House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
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Other Bills before Parliament

Notices of Amendments: 17th January 2008
84

Pensions Bill, continued

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

110

Clause  62,  page  29,  line  18,  at end insert—

‘(g)
the UN Principles for Responsible Investment should be adhered to’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that PADA adheres to the UN Principles of Responsi

ble Investment as developing a capability to monitor and manage environmental, social and gov

ernance issues increases returns and financial security.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

111

Page  29,  line  31,  leave out Clause 64.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that a proper debate can take place on the financing

of PADA.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

112

Page  37,  line  20,  leave out Clause 79.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that deferred pensions are not unfairly devalued.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

113

Page  57,  line  10,  leave out Schedule 2.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that deferred pensions are not unfairly devalued.

Trivial commutation limit

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

NC6

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Finance Act 2004 is amended as follows—

In Schedule 29, paragraph 7, subsection (4) leave out from ‘is’ to ‘of’ and insert

“2 per cent”.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this Clause is to ensure that the effects of means testing can be mitigated by a dou

bling of the trivial commutation limit.

Role of the Information Commissioner

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

NC7

To move the following Clause:—

Notices of Amendments: 17th January 2008
85

Pensions Bill, continued

‘(1)
The Information Commissioner shall have full jurisdiction over the workings of

the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority and the Pensions Regulator.

(2)
The Secretary of State must prepare, and keep under review, a code of practice

with respect to the disclosure of information relating to pensions by public

authorities.

(3)
Before preparing or altering the code, the Secretary of State must consult—

(a)
any specified public authority;

(b)
the Information Commissioner; and

(c)
such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

(4)
A public authority must have regard to the code in (or in connection with)

disclosing information relating to pensions.

(5)
Nothing in this section applies in relation to any disclosure by a relevant public

authority of information whose subject-matter is a matter about which provision

would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament if it were

included in an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

(6)
The Secretary of State must—

(a)
lay a copy of the code, and of any alterations to it, before Parliament; and

(b)
from time to time publish the code as for the time being in force.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The purpose of this Clause is to ensure that the Information Commissioner can properly oversee

the workings of the personal accounts system and that a code of best practice is effective and prop

erly adhered to.

Danny Alexander

Paul Rowen

115

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

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.

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

Notices of Amendments: 17th January 2008
86

Pensions Bill, continued

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

ulations.

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 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.

(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 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 7. It would require regulations to be made for the provision

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

Notices of Amendments: 17th January 2008
87

Pensions Bill, continued

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 7. 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

This amendment amends clause 10(1) to include the clauses on postponement of automatic enrol

ment, the jobholder’s right to opt out, automatic re-enrolment and workers without qualifying

earnings (New Clause 7). Regulations under clause 10(1) may require some employers to start dis

charging their duties under the Chapter before others.

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 7 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.

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.

Notices of Amendments: 17th January 2008
88

Pensions Bill, continued

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 7 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 7. 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.

Mr Mike O’Brien

134

Clause  77,  page  36,  line  29,  leave out ‘or 6(3)’ and insert ‘, 6(3) or [Workers

without qualifying earnings](2)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is related to New Clause 7. It extends the definition of “enrolment duty” to in

clude a duty under that New Clause.

Workers without qualifying earnings

Mr Mike O’Brien

NC8

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
This section applies to a worker—

(a)
to whom paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 1(1) apply (working in Great

Britain and aged between 16 and 75),

(b)
to whom paragraph (c) of section 1(1) does not apply (qualifying

earnings), and

(c)
who is not an active member of a pension scheme that satisfies the

requirements of this section.

(2)
The worker may by notice require the employer to arrange for the worker to

become an active member of a pension scheme that satisfies the requirements of

this section.

(3)
The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision—

(a)
about the form and content of the notice;

(b)
about the arrangements that the employer is required to make;

Notices of Amendments: 17th January 2008
89

Pensions Bill, continued

(c)
for determining the date with effect from which the worker is (subject to

compliance with any requirements of the scheme rules) to become an

active member under the arrangements.

(4)
Subsections (5) and (6) apply where a worker becomes an active member of a

pension 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 because of any action or

omission by the worker, and

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

(5)
The further notice does not have effect to require the employer to arrange for the

worker to become an active member of a pension scheme.

(6)
But any arrangements the employer makes for the worker to become, within that

period, an active member of a pension scheme that satisfies the requirements of

this section must be made in accordance with regulations under this section.

(7)
A pension scheme satisfies the requirements of this section if—

(a)
it is an occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme,

(b)
it is registered under Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 (c. 12),

and

(c)
in the case of a personal pension scheme, there are, in relation to the

worker concerned, direct payment arrangements (within the meaning of

section 111A of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (c. 48)) between the

worker and the employer.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This New Clause provides that a worker who does not have qualifying earnings may require the

employer to enrol the worker into a pension scheme that satisfies the requirements in subsection

(7). The employer is not required to make any contributions, nor accept a notice more than once

a year.