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Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 8: 8: Clause 3, page 2, line 19, after ““reached”” insert ““state”” The noble Lord said: Here, perhaps I will make more sense and have a better understanding of what I am trying to get at. Clause 3(1)(b) states that the end of the automatic enrolment period is when the worker reaches pensionable age. This is yet another probing amendment, this time about the other end of the age range. I find ““pensionable age”” rather confusing, which is hardly surprising as the Explanatory Notes on the clause talk about ““state pension age”” as the upper automatic enrolment age limit. By referring merely to pension age, the Bill could mean that it is still talking about any auto-enrolment scheme, which could include permitted schemes that have a retirement age lower than state retirement age. If the Government mean us to believe the Explanatory Notes—if they mean state pension age—surely that needs to be shown in the Bill. There is an even more fundamental question. We will discuss the parameters of qualifying schemes when we come to Clause 15, but I should be grateful if the Minister could answer the question now. Could a scheme that allowed a jobholder to start drawing his pension at an age below state pension age qualify for auto-enrolment? This is important. I should also like to know whether someone drawing a pension from a previous place of work, which allowed early retirement, and subsequently working somewhere else until state pension age, is eligible for auto-enrolment. I suspect that he is still eligible, but starts the whole process again with his new employer. I find the drafting of Clause 3 confusing. I hope the Minister will be able to set my mind at rest. I beg to move.