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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I shall not do that, despite the hon. Gentleman’s tempting me to do so. However, the rules have an important bearing on some points that I want to make. It is fundamental to appreciate that, in the 2004 Act, the Government accepted that there is no requirement for the annuitisation of the pension fund of a group of people at 75. Anyone who wants to go down that route can do so. The Government have, therefore, through the 2004 Act, removed an argument for compulsory annuitisation. The new clause creates an alternative to the alternatively secured pension, which sets a maximum draw-down that ensures that people do not run out of funds during their retirement. It would minimise the chances of those with alternatively secured pensions becoming reliant on the state. It would not entirely prevent that but it would minimise the chances by ensuring that there was always something left in the alternatively secured pension on which people could draw later in life. The new clause would also minimise the chances of people becoming reliant on the state by requiring them to buy an annuity that delivered a minimum income. The Chancellor of the Exchequer would set the amount and, once it was purchased, it would enable people to draw down the rest of the funds as they saw fit, as they can do now before the age of 75. The new clause therefore sets out the minimum income requirement, the amount of which would be set by the Chancellor annually, to ensure that people do not become reliant on the state in their retirement, but that they have the flexibility to determine how the remainder of their pension fund should be used.