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1177103

registered interest
date	07/02/2020
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 duties the trustees of non-associated multi-employer pension schemes have to employers contributing to the scheme; and whether all such employers have a right to be consulted when trustees grant apportionment arrangements to departing employers.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL1428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2020 answer text <p>The employer debt legislation (section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005) sets out the requirements on departing employers where any shortfall between liabilities and assets in a Defined Benefit pension scheme is treated as due.</p><p> </p><p>Trustees of all occupational pension schemes including non-associated multi-employer pension schemes have a duty to employers contributing to the scheme to ensure that the scheme is correctly administered in accordance with its rules and that the promised benefits are paid. Where a restructuring event takes place, trustees are required to consult the exiting employer and receiving employer about the likelihood of the receiving employer being able to meet all the exiting employer’s liabilities in relation to the scheme. The trustees must also notify the exiting and receiving employer (in writing) of their decision as to whether they consider the receiving employer capable of meeting all the exiting employer’s liabilities to the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst there is no general requirement for trustees to consult employers when granting apportionment arrangements to departing employers, the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005 require the consent of employers within the scheme when trustees grant Regulated Apportionment Arrangements, Scheme Apportionment Arrangements and Flexible Apportionment Arrangements to departing employers.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s Green and subsequent White Paper on Defined Benefit pension schemes looked very closely at this issue and considered carefully what could be done to relieve the pressure some employers face from their obligation to pay an employer debt.</p><p> </p><p>The White Paper concluded that the existing arrangements in legislation, along with the deferred debt arrangement introduced in April 2018, provide enough flexibility for employers to manage their employer debts and the current “full-buyout” calculation method is the most secure and effective way of protecting members and remaining employers in a multi-employer scheme.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 19/02/2020 13:02:46 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1177105

registered interest
date	07/02/2020
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 steps they have taken to ensure that the pensions industry routinely checks for auto-enrolment contribution data errors; and whether they receive reports from (1) pension providers, (2) employers, and (3) payroll operators, which verify the accuracy of such contributions.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL1430
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2020 answer text <p>Successive governments have put in place a robust, proportionate, compliance framework for automatic enrolment, which is administered by The Pensions Regulator, and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, employers and their pension scheme trustees, managers and providers must keep certain records including details of the pension contributions payable in each relevant pay reference period by an employer to the pension scheme, and the amounts payable. This includes the contributions due on the employer’s behalf and deductions made from an individual’s earnings towards automatic enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of trust based defined contribution pension schemes and managers of contract based defined contribution pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions, provide information to help members check their contributions and report material payment failures to The Pensions Regulator.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator receives payment failure reports from pension providers, but these do not necessarily represent data errors. While The Pensions Regulator does not hold statistics on contribution data errors, 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> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator publishes regular assessments of its automatic enrolment compliance and enforcement activities as well as an annual commentary and analysis report, both of which are available on its website.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 13/02/2020 14:54:56 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1132189

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that independent governance committees (IGCs) monitor and provide effective oversight of the suitability of all the retail fund choices available to pension scheme members through the firm which an IGC oversees.
tabling member printed	Baroness Drake
uin	HL16350
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced rules in 2015 to require contract-based pension providers to set up independent governance committees (IGCs) to address poor consumer outcomes. IGCs have a duty to scrutinise the value for money of the provider’s workplace personal pension schemes, taking into account transaction costs, raising concerns and making recommendations to the provider’s board as appropriate. IGCs have a duty to assess whether all the investment choices available, including default options, are suitable for the interests of consumers.<p><strong> </strong></p>In 2016, the FCA reviewed IGCs and found that they were “generally effective” in influencing and advancing cost reductions for members. The FCA has announced that it will undertake a further review of IGCs in 2019/20. answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 26/06/2019 16:50:19 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	4155 label Biography information for Baroness Drake

1082397

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
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 how many downloads of the Pensions Regulator assessment calculation spreadsheet there have been in each of the last five years.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL14234
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>We interpret the question to be referring to the Basic Assessment Tool spreadsheet data, which started in September 2015.</p><p>From 2015 to the end of 2018, the Pensions Regulator’s Basic Assessment Tool was downloaded a total of 6,776 times. The table below provides a breakdown of downloads in each year.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Downloads</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>4176</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2268</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>258</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 12/03/2019 16:16:59 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1082398

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
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 evidence and statistics they hold in relation to automatic enrolment pension contribution data errors.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL14235
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>I refer the noble Baroness to my answer of 12th November 2018.</p><p>Employers, trustees, managers and providers must keep certain records including details of the pension contributions payable in each relevant pay reference period by an employer to the scheme, and the amount payable. This includes the contributions due on the employer’s behalf and deductions made from an individual’s earnings.</p><p>The Pensions Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions, provide information to help members check their contributions and report material payment failures to The Pensions Regulator. However, The Pensions Regulator does not hold statistics on contribution data errors. The Pensions Regulator have payment failure reports from pension providers but these do not necessarily represent data errors.</p><p>In addition, The Pensions Regulator publishes regular assessments of its automatic enrolment compliance and enforcement activities as well as an annual commentary and analysis report, both of which are available on its website.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 12/03/2019 16:35:55 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

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

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

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

1022846

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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 have any plans to ask the Pensions Regulator to require regular reconciliation and reporting on accuracy of auto-enrolment pensions data.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12123
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>Automatic enrolment has been a great success, with over 9.9 million employees enrolled and more than 1.3 million employers having met their duties to date. Government has put in place a robust, proportionate compliance framework. This is administered by The Pensions Regulator, and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law. An employer is required to select a qualifying pension scheme; enrol qualifying staff into that scheme, and deduct any contributions payable under automatic enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>Qualifying pension schemes for automatic enrolment are subject to the same regulatory framework as all trust-based workplace pension schemes, also overseen by The Pensions Regulator. The Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions; provide information to help members check their contributions; and report material payment failures to the Regulator.</p><p> </p><p>The regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported, the 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 18/12/2018 16:48:51 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1002198

registered interest
date	05/11/2018
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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 31 October (HL10751), what assessment they have made of the obligations on (1) employers, and (2) pension schemes to report failures to pay correct contributions, regardless of whether the errors are large or small; and whether there is a definition of what contributes a material error.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL11219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>Government has put in place a robust, proportionate, compliance framework for automatic enrolment which ensures that the vast majority of employers are meeting their legal duties, including: declaring compliance, accurately paying contributions and passing contributions to their chosen pension scheme. This framework is backed by statutory powers which enable the Regulator to compel compliance with the law.</p><p>Employers, trustees, managers and providers must keep records including details of the pension contributions payable in each relevant pay reference period by an employer to the scheme, and the amount payable. This includes the contributions due on the employer’s behalf and deductions made from an individual’s earnings.</p><p>The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions, provide information to help members check their contributions and report material payment failures to TPR. The codes set out what is considered a material breach, specifically: paragraphs 173 and 174 of Code 3; paragraphs 46 and 47 of Code 5; paragraphs 48 and 49 of Code 6; and paragraphs 173 to 186 of Code 14.</p><p>In addition, TPR publishes regular assessments of its automatic enrolment compliance and enforcement activities as well as an annual commentary and analysis report, both of which are available on its website.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL11220 HL11221 HL11222 question first answered 12/11/2018 16:59:44 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann