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Pensions Bill

I accept that that is what the amendment states. Officials and I thought that its import was different. I thought that there was a drafting error in it as well, but I understand from what the noble Baroness says that it is correct. In that sense, there is a different issue to think through, which would look at somebody in a qualifying scheme where the contribution of the employer was based on a more traditional definition of earnings—basic pay—with that employer contributing from £0. The proposition in respect of personal accounts and auto-enrolment generally is that the earnings figure should be a different definition—a broader band. In making the comparison to qualifying schemes, we say that we are concerned about only the contribution levels, not how the calculation is done. I apologise for not being able to give a considered response, because we thought that the amendment was heading in a different direction. We need to work through where the balance lies for person A, whose employer currently contributes from £0 but on a different calculation of earnings. We say that that is fine, but the comparison has to be against somebody having contributions calculated on a band and a broader definition of earnings. We need to see the equality between those two situations. We need to take away and think through the proposition that my noble friend helpfully outlined tonight, which is different from the proposition that we examined. She and my noble friend Lady Dean recognised that trying to aggregate multiple jobs was a nightmare. The Pensions Commission looked at—we have done so too—all the issues about who would contribute what and who would have responsibility for paying into the scheme, particularly when you have two or more employers with different schemes, different pay reference periods and fluctuating earnings. It would be an administrative nightmare and is not something that has been accomplished. I would like to take away and think through the different issues that my noble friend Lady Hollis has raised tonight—without any commitment, of course—as we need to explore some of them.