Pensions Bill. Lords Report stage second day. Part 1 of 2 records.

Pensions Bill. Lords Report stage second day. Part 1 of 2 records.

My Lords, we do not see that as necessary. I have tried to give a firm commitment on the record. If there are ways in which the noble Baroness thinks that we can strengthen that commitment and put it on the record, I will be happy to do so. We...

My Lords, we do not see that as necessary. I have tried to give a firm commitment on the record. If there are ways in which the noble Baroness thinks that we can strengthen that commitment and put it on the record, I will be happy to do so. We...

moved Amendment No. 77: 77: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Amendment of rules to take pension annuities by the age of 75 (1) Any statutory provision or rule of law requiring a pension to be taken in the form of an annuity by the age of 75...

moved Amendment No. 77: 77: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Amendment of rules to take pension annuities by the age of 75 (1) Any statutory provision or rule of law requiring a pension to be taken in the form of an annuity by the age of 75...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for moving the amendment; it gives us a chance to discuss an important issue. The Government fully support the objective underlying the amendment. People choosing an annuity should have the best possible understanding of the options available to them, and of the potential...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for moving the amendment; it gives us a chance to discuss an important issue. The Government fully support the objective underlying the amendment. People choosing an annuity should have the best possible understanding of the options available to them, and of the potential...

moved Amendment No. 76: 76: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Annuities: form of consent A provider of a pension scheme must not sell an annuity unless the purchaser has signed a form of consent, to be prescribed and kept under review by the Financial Services Authority, so...

moved Amendment No. 76: 76: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Annuities: form of consent A provider of a pension scheme must not sell an annuity unless the purchaser has signed a form of consent, to be prescribed and kept under review by the Financial Services Authority, so...

My Lords, I for one find this a curious amendment, as the noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, knows because we discussed it last week or possibly the week before. It is clearly well intentioned, because it is certainly in pensioners’ best interests to get value for money when annuitising their pension...

My Lords, I for one find this a curious amendment, as the noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, knows because we discussed it last week or possibly the week before. It is clearly well intentioned, because it is certainly in pensioners’ best interests to get value for money when annuitising their pension...

My Lords, I support the amendment, and do so as a former chairman of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund up to my retirement from the other place in 2001. Perhaps I may make one comment about the parliamentary scheme, which is frequently misunderstood in the media. The parliamentary pension scheme...

My Lords, I support the amendment, and do so as a former chairman of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund up to my retirement from the other place in 2001. Perhaps I may make one comment about the parliamentary scheme, which is frequently misunderstood in the media. The parliamentary pension scheme...

My Lords, I am also grateful for that, although the Minister refers me back to a document that I have already been looking at. Something like a Turner-commission view of that technical document would be much more useful to me as a policy-maker. Of course the Government produce raw technical...

My Lords, I am also grateful for that, although the Minister refers me back to a document that I have already been looking at. Something like a Turner-commission view of that technical document would be much more useful to me as a policy-maker. Of course the Government produce raw technical...

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply, but it just will not do. I set myself a little test of whether we would be given two particular figures. The first was the Government’s figure for unfunded liability, and I noticed that we did not get an...

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply, but it just will not do. I set myself a little test of whether we would be given two particular figures. The first was the Government’s figure for unfunded liability, and I noticed that we did not get an...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his remarks about my eloquence last year. I hope he will be rather more effective than me in getting this amendment through the House. I share very much the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, about the figures she quoted and...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his remarks about my eloquence last year. I hope he will be rather more effective than me in getting this amendment through the House. I share very much the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, about the figures she quoted and...

My Lords, we have debated this topic before, as the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, and others have acknowledged. We recognise the importance of the issues raised by the noble Lord and I am happy to try once again to reassure him about our intentions. Much of the previous debate perhaps...

My Lords, we have debated this topic before, as the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, and others have acknowledged. We recognise the importance of the issues raised by the noble Lord and I am happy to try once again to reassure him about our intentions. Much of the previous debate perhaps...

My Lords, we wholeheartedly support the principle behind the amendment just moved by the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, and I agree that the recent report from the Pensions Policy Institute is valuable because it illuminates what we know and what we do not yet fully understand. We on these Benches...

My Lords, we wholeheartedly support the principle behind the amendment just moved by the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, and I agree that the recent report from the Pensions Policy Institute is valuable because it illuminates what we know and what we do not yet fully understand. We on these Benches...

My Lords, that response was disappointing and I am bound to say that I did not see the significance of the arguments that the Minister used at the end of his speech— that most people have already started taking the income before the age of 75 and that that is...

My Lords, that response was disappointing and I am bound to say that I did not see the significance of the arguments that the Minister used at the end of his speech— that most people have already started taking the income before the age of 75 and that that is...

My Lords, I admit that I was speaking even faster than I usually do, so perhaps the Minister did not quite understand what I was getting at. He and I have both related the incident behind the regulator’s complaint. He relied on Section 89 of the Act, which I looked...

My Lords, I admit that I was speaking even faster than I usually do, so perhaps the Minister did not quite understand what I was getting at. He and I have both related the incident behind the regulator’s complaint. He relied on Section 89 of the Act, which I looked...

moved Amendment No. 77A: 77A: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Amendment of pensions annuities rule Any statutory provision or rule of law requiring a pension to be taken in the form of an annuity by the age of 75 is amended so that the age limit is...

moved Amendment No. 77A: 77A: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Amendment of pensions annuities rule Any statutory provision or rule of law requiring a pension to be taken in the form of an annuity by the age of 75 is amended so that the age limit is...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, has just made a powerful speech adding to the arguments that were put forward in the earlier debate, and I certainly do not intend to repeat any of them. I simply say to the Minister that there will be a...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, has just made a powerful speech adding to the arguments that were put forward in the earlier debate, and I certainly do not intend to repeat any of them. I simply say to the Minister that there will be a...

My Lords, I very much regret that I was not able to be present for the earlier debate, owing to a long-standing lunchtime engagement that I had in Norfolk. I would certainly have strongly supported my noble friend Lord Fowler in his proposal. This proposal is obviously second best, but...

My Lords, I very much regret that I was not able to be present for the earlier debate, owing to a long-standing lunchtime engagement that I had in Norfolk. I would certainly have strongly supported my noble friend Lord Fowler in his proposal. This proposal is obviously second best, but...

My Lords, following on from that point, surely the same happens at whatever age you decide to annuitise; whether 80, 85 or 90. The crunch point can come at any point. The Minister said that, although not quite in those terms, on the last ““abolition of annuitising”” amendment. You just...

My Lords, following on from that point, surely the same happens at whatever age you decide to annuitise; whether 80, 85 or 90. The crunch point can come at any point. The Minister said that, although not quite in those terms, on the last ““abolition of annuitising”” amendment. You just...

My Lords, I understood that point, but if there is no requirement to crystallise some form of income flow from the pension pot at any stage, that raises the question of what happens to the pension pot on death. Is that going to lead to some tax-free inheritance proposal? That...

My Lords, I understood that point, but if there is no requirement to crystallise some form of income flow from the pension pot at any stage, that raises the question of what happens to the pension pot on death. Is that going to lead to some tax-free inheritance proposal? That...