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Pensions Bill

As the noble Baroness has explained, this amendment is intended to address the concern that, as the definition of post-conversion benefits stands, it might not permit the accrual of money purchase benefits after the conversion had occurred. This would obviously not be an outcome which we intended. However, for the reasons I shall give, we do not believe that that is the effect of the current wording of the definition. This clause is about the conversion of the GMP into scheme benefits of the same actuarial value. The GMP accrued from 1978 to 1997 and therefore the proposed legislation cannot by definition have an impact on post-1997 accruals. By excluding money purchase benefits from the definition of ““post-conversion benefits”” and, indeed, from the definition of ““pre-conversion benefits”” as well, we are preventing a scheme from including any such benefits an individual accrued during the GMP period from the conversion calculations. We are not stopping anyone from accruing post-1997 rights in their scheme, of whatever type. I trust that that is the reassurance the noble Baroness seeks.