PENSIONS BILL
The purpose of the bill is to:
- enact the remaining provisions of our pensions reform package set out in the May 2006 White Paper, Security in retirement: towards a new pension system.
The main benefits of the bill are:
The introduction of a new scheme of low-cost Personal Accounts will give those without access to a good quality pension scheme - in particular, low to moderate earners - the opportunity to save; an estimated 7 million people are currently not saving enough for their retirement.
Automatically enrolling eligible individuals into personal accounts will tackle the current behavioural barriers to pension saving, such as inertia, and the difficulty of making the right choice; individuals will have the right to opt-out.
The introduction of a minimum employer contribution will improve incentives to save and increase pension participation.
Simplification of the regulatory and institutional landscape, of private pension schemes, and of the State Second Pension.
The main elements of the bill are:
- Powers to set up the personal accounts scheme;
- Powers to introduce mandatory employer contributions into a qualifying pension scheme, and to require the automatic enrolment of eligible employees into qualifying schemes;
- Powers to enable the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority to move from acting in an advisory to an executive capacity;
- Further consolidation and simplification measures to the State Second Pension framework;
The Bill would apply to:
Related Documents:
Existing Legislation in this area is:
- Social Security Administration Act 1992
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992
- Pension Schemes Act 1993
- Pensions Act 1995
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999
- Civil Partnerships Act 2004
- Pensions Act 2004
Comments:
If you have any comments on the draft programme or individual bill being proposed, you can email them to:
legislation@commonsleader.x.gsi.gov.uk
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