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Pensions Bill

Let me see if I can help the noble Baroness. It is the Pensions Regulator’s job to ensure compliance with this regime; therefore, it needs to possess the key relevant information. HMRC will be a key source of that information because, as we discussed earlier, it is the one database of employers across the UK. We envisage that the registration process will be web-based and will ask employers about the pensions arrangements that they will use to meet the new requirement. Every employer will be required to register once for each of his PAYE schemes. Information from HMRC can be used to contact employers to effect that. The Pensions Regulator will then check that registration had been completed for every employer PAYE scheme, and that checking process is likely to be highly automated. The regulator will determine the most effective approach to gathering this information in support of its objective to maximise employer compliance. The regulator will intervene early with those who do not register, using reminders and penalties where necessary. We recognise that seeking information from employers will impose a cost on them, but believe that that will be outweighed by gains achieved by higher compliance overall. We also believe that costs will be relatively low because most employers will complete the registration process only once for each of the PAYE schemes that they run, and will then have very low ongoing contact with the Pensions Regulator. The operational design of the registration process will take into account the need to minimise employer burdens. By enabling early identification of non-compliance, the registration process will minimise further burdens on compliant employers and help to prevent non-compliant employers gaining an unfair commercial advantage.