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1077089

registered interest
date	25/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the withdrawal of credit insurance to a company sponsoring a pension fund with a large deficit requires approval by the Pensions Regulator.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL14009
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2019 answer text <p>The Pensions Regulator does not have jurisdiction over corporate business transactions, such as the withdrawal of credit insurance, and does not have the power to require insurance companies to seek approval before withdrawing insurance cover.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator operates a voluntary clearance procedure to those who are considering transactions involving companies with defined benefit schemes. If clearance is not applied for and granted, the Regulator may exercise its anti-avoidance powers, if it considers that the transaction was aimed at avoiding a debt to the pension scheme. These powers can be applied up to six years after a transaction has taken place.</p><p> </p><p>Employers sponsoring defined benefit pension schemes are also required to notify the Regulator of certain prescribed events. These do not include the withdrawal of credit insurance but should the withdrawal of such insurance trigger a prescribed event, including insolvency, then the employer would be required to notify the Pensions Regulator.</p><p> </p><p>Defined benefit pension schemes also go through a valuation process every three years (tri-annual evaluation), comparing assets against liabilities, and the withdrawal of credit insurance might be identified by the Regulator as part of this process.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 08/03/2019 14:09:54 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1064102

registered interest
date	19/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2019 to Question 219503 on Occupational Pensions, what criteria her Department uses to assess the effect of the (a) 2018 and (b) 2019 increases in the minimum contribution rates.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	223513
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2019 answer text <p>As part of its 2017 Automatic Enrolment Review the Government committed to build on the success of Automatic Enrolment by continuing to monitor and evaluate the impact of increased contributions in 2018 and 2019, as the contributions rose to 5% and 8%.</p><p> </p><p>In April 2018, the first of two planned Automatic Enrolment minimum contribution increases took place, with total contributions increasing from 2% to 5%.</p><p> </p><p>Following the first contribution increase, the Government did a detailed evaluation in the 2018 Automatic Enrolment evaluation report (published December 2018), which provides early evidence suggesting that the first increase has gone smoothly with no significant change in savings behaviours.</p><p> </p><p>A link for the report can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department is continuing to closely monitor and evaluate the impacts of the phased contribution increases throughout 2019 and will do a detailed evaluation of the 8% rise 2019/2020.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/02/2019 14:25:07 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1064103

registered interest
date	19/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2019 to Question 219503 on Occupational Pensions, with which stakeholders her Department plans to consult on the evaluation of Automatic Enrolment.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	223514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to maintaining the consensus with employers, pension providers, payroll companies, consumer groups, Government departments, analytical teams and other delivery partners, which has been a hallmark of the success of Automatic Enrolment. We will continue to inform stakeholders about any future consultations, and evaluation or implementation plans.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/02/2019 10:26:44 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1064174

registered interest
date	19/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure the pensions industry routinely checks for auto-enrolment contribution data errors; and what reporting they require from (1) pension providers, (2) employers, and (3) payroll operators to verify the accuracy of contributions.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL13821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2019 answer text <p>I refer the noble Baroness to my answers of 7 January 2019 and 18 December 2018. The regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported. The Pensions Regulator can then require restitution; and, where necessary, make use of its enforcement powers.</p><p>The Government keeps all aspects of automatic enrolment under regular review but has no plans to make changes to the compliance framework at this time.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 25/02/2019 16:11:12 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1062035

registered interest
date	15/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of lowering the age limit for pensions auto-enrolment to 18.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	222040
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to continuing to make workplace pension saving the norm for young people. As part of the 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment, we set out our ambition to reduce the minimum age threshold from age 22 to 18 – enabling more people to begin to save.</p><p> </p><p>Reducing the eligibility criteria for employers to enrol workers to age 18 helps to reinforce the norm that the majority of young people will start to pay into a pension from their first pay cheque. It will also simplify the workforce assessment for employers: all eligible workers would benefit from automatic enrolment from age 18 whoever employs them.</p><p>The Government recognises that employers, payroll and other delivery partners need time to plan for these changes. Employers need time to adjust to costs over the coming years before the Review proposals are implemented. We also want to understand properly the impact of the April 2019 contribution increase before committing to a timetable for the proposed changes.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/02/2019 13:46:28 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1061301

registered interest
date	14/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with stakeholders on removing the lower earnings limit as a result of the Automatic Enrolment Review 2017 in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	221844
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>As part of its 2017 Review the Government committed to build on the consensus on automatic enrolment, which has been a hallmark of the success of the development and operation of the policy.</p><p>Our ambition is to implement the proposals in the Review, including the removal of the lower earnings limit in the mid-2020s – this is subject to discussions with stakeholders on the implementation approach, finding ways to make these changes affordable, and evidence of the impact of the increases in statutory minimum contribution rates from April 2019.</p><p>We recognise that employers, payroll and other delivery partners need time to plan for these changes, so that they can manage costs with certainty. Over the past 12 months Ministers and officials have and continue to engage regularly with employers, pension providers, consumer groups and other delivery partners on a range of matters including these areas and have debated Automatic Enrolment in parliament on several occasions. We will continue to do so to inform future consultation on implementation plans.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 21/02/2019 16:40:07 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1061334

registered interest
date	14/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what incentives the Government provides to encourage individuals in multiple jobs to opt-in to pension saving.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	221858
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>In its 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment Review the Government looked at the position of multiple job holders, including those who earn more than the earnings trigger in aggregate, but do not qualify for automatic enrolment by their employer as they do not earn more than this level in any single job.</p><p>Currently multiple job holders will benefit from being enrolled by their employer if they earn above the earnings trigger in any one job. This is currently set at £10,000 for 2019/20. For those in multiple jobs who do not earn above the earnings trigger in any single job, the option remains for them to opt-in to workplace saving if they are in a position to do so, and if they earn above the lower earnings limit they will also have the incentive of getting employer contributions. In some cases, these individuals may also receive tax relief on top of their employer contribution. Some may be enrolled by their employer through contractual enrolment into workplace pension saving.</p><p>The Government is committed to building on the success of automatic enrolment. The 2017 Automatic Enrolment Review sets out our ambition for the mid-2020s, with proposals to improve incentives for low earners in multiple jobs to opt into workplace pension saving by removing the lower earnings limit. This means those individuals would get an employer contribution for every pound earned. However, we will want to fully understand properly the impact of the 2018 and 2019 increases in minimum contribution rates, and work with stakeholders to build the consensus on which the success of automatic enrolment has been based, before committing a timetable for the proposed changes. A significant number of self-employed people choose to opt into Automatic Enrolment themselves.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 21/02/2019 12:32:11 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1058897

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to take implement the proposals from its Automatic enrolment review 2017, published on 18 December 2017, to remove the lower limit of qualifying earnings for workplace pension auto-enrolment.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	219503
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>Automatic Enrolment has reversed the decline in workplace pension saving. Latest figures show that more than 10 million workers have been automatically enrolled into workplace pension by more than 1.4 million employers. By 2019/20 an estimated extra £18.4 billion a year is estimated to go into workplace pensions as a result of Automatic Enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic enrolment was designed specifically to help groups who historically were poorly served or excluded from workplace pension saving, such as women and lower earners. In 2012, 60% of eligible women in the private sector did not have a workplace pension. As of 2017, this had fallen to 20% and the participation rate for women in the private sector is now near equal to men.</p><p> </p><p>The earnings trigger determines who is eligible to be enrolled by their employer into a workplace pension. The DWP reviews the trigger annually, and in doing so considers whether the people brought into pensions saving are likely to benefit, paying particular attention to the impact of this on groups currently under-represented in pension saving such as women and low earners.</p><p> </p><p>The decision to maintain the trigger at £10,000 for 2019/20 continues to strike a balance between affordability for employers and individuals, while delivering on our policy objective of continuing to give low to median earners, who are most able to save, the opportunity to do so. This also provides a level of stability, with the second phased increase in contributions due to take place at the start of the 2019/20 tax year. Lowering the trigger could result in diverting income away from the day-to-day needs of the lowest earners and impact significantly on their living standards. For those low earners who are in a position to contribute, however, the option remains to opt-in to saving, and if they earn above the lower earnings limit they will also receive employer contributions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to building on the success of Automatic Enrolment. The 2017 review sets out our ambition for the mid-2020s, with proposals to strengthen financial resilience for young people and lower earners, including those who have multiple part-time jobs. However, we will not force the pace of change in Automatic Enrolment and want to understand properly the impact of the 2018 and 2019 increases in minimum contribution rates, and work with stakeholders to build the consensus on which the success of Automatic Enrolment has been based, before committing to a timetable for the proposed changes.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 219504 219505 question first answered 19/02/2019 13:10:38 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1058899

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people who do not meet the automatic enrolment earnings threshold to save for retirement.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	219505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>Automatic Enrolment has reversed the decline in workplace pension saving. Latest figures show that more than 10 million workers have been automatically enrolled into workplace pension by more than 1.4 million employers. By 2019/20 an estimated extra £18.4 billion a year is estimated to go into workplace pensions as a result of Automatic Enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic enrolment was designed specifically to help groups who historically were poorly served or excluded from workplace pension saving, such as women and lower earners. In 2012, 60% of eligible women in the private sector did not have a workplace pension. As of 2017, this had fallen to 20% and the participation rate for women in the private sector is now near equal to men.</p><p> </p><p>The earnings trigger determines who is eligible to be enrolled by their employer into a workplace pension. The DWP reviews the trigger annually, and in doing so considers whether the people brought into pensions saving are likely to benefit, paying particular attention to the impact of this on groups currently under-represented in pension saving such as women and low earners.</p><p> </p><p>The decision to maintain the trigger at £10,000 for 2019/20 continues to strike a balance between affordability for employers and individuals, while delivering on our policy objective of continuing to give low to median earners, who are most able to save, the opportunity to do so. This also provides a level of stability, with the second phased increase in contributions due to take place at the start of the 2019/20 tax year. Lowering the trigger could result in diverting income away from the day-to-day needs of the lowest earners and impact significantly on their living standards. For those low earners who are in a position to contribute, however, the option remains to opt-in to saving, and if they earn above the lower earnings limit they will also receive employer contributions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to building on the success of Automatic Enrolment. The 2017 review sets out our ambition for the mid-2020s, with proposals to strengthen financial resilience for young people and lower earners, including those who have multiple part-time jobs. However, we will not force the pace of change in Automatic Enrolment and want to understand properly the impact of the 2018 and 2019 increases in minimum contribution rates, and work with stakeholders to build the consensus on which the success of Automatic Enrolment has been based, before committing to a timetable for the proposed changes.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 219503 219504 question first answered 19/02/2019 13:10:39 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1029085

registered interest
date	19/12/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to require employers to report annually on actions they, or their agents, have taken to verify that contributions made on behalf of staff to auto-enrolment pension schemes are (1) correct, and (2) have been amended if they were found to be incorrect; and if not, what discussions they have had with the Pensions Regulator about introducing such a requirement.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2019 answer text <p>I refer the noble Baroness to my answer of 18 December. The regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported, the Pensions Regulator can then require restitution; and, where necessary, make use of its enforcement powers. The Government keeps all aspects of automatic enrolment under regular review but has no plans to make changes to the compliance framework at this time.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 07/01/2019 14:20:58 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann