18 July 2023
The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill has passed the second reading and is now at the committee stage. This Bill permits two extensions to automatic enrolment – abolishing the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) for contributions and reducing the age for being automatically enrolled to 18 years old.
The Bill was debated in parliament on Friday 14 July 2023 and Baroness Altmann expressed that the measures could benefit 600,000 18 to 21-year-olds working in the private sector.
Baroness Altmann, said:
‘‘The Bill provides regulation-making powers to amend the automatic enrolment framework set out in the Pensions Act 2008. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will be required to carry out a public consultation on the proposed use of these powers to lower the minimum age and abolish the lower earnings limit, with the findings having to be reported to Parliament before regulations are made. It is promised, I believe, that the consultation will be later this year, so I do not think that we will have to wait too long. All noble Lords will therefore be able to consider and vote on the detail of the proposals for secondary legislation before they become law. I hope that noble Lords will therefore be able to support these enabling measures in the Bill today.
As the Government have promised, this measure will be in place—or the intention is that it will be in place—by the mid-2020s. Of course, there is more to do, including extending auto-enrolment to workers with earnings in any one job below £10,000 as well, but that can be covered elsewhere, and to the self-employed. However, these measures are an important start. I welcome the improvements, and I hope that noble Lords across the House will do so. I commend the Bill to noble Lords.’’
A date is yet to be announced for the committee stage, which is a line-by-line consideration of the detail of the bill.
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