Clause 16 - Retirement pension income
State Pension Credit Bill [Lords]
6:45 pm
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry, Conservative)
We now come to the narrower concept of retirement pension income. I appreciate the Under-Secretary's elucidation of the wider concepts of income in clause 15. I am content with her approach, which is to specify the heads for income, including, if necessary, a get-out clause to deal with anything that we have not thought of, or abuses of the system. It is more comfortable for pensioners to be able to carry out a mental checklist and say, ''I have none of the above,'' than to be caught out. As I conceded earlier, it is right that there should be a fallback provision, as set out in subsection (2), which is that amendments may be made
by regulation to subsection (1) to add or vary something, or to delete anything that no longer seems appropriate. The Committee heard examples of the complexities even of retirement income in our exchanges on annuities, and I shall not repeat them.
As I shall say when we come to clause 17, the inference to be drawn from clauses 16 and 17, and from clause 19, which gives the details of regulations, is that the regulations will be made by negative resolution. That may be appropriate, but given the complexities—such as the fact that some people may be stakeholders, and the different kinds of income that may fall within the measure—can Ministers assure us that they will usually carry out consultations before introducing such regulations? A possible exception to consultation would be the discovery of a clear abuse that is escalating fast; for example, if someone finds a scheme that he then markets and people take it up at an inordinate rate. In such circumstances, Ministers may wish to regulate first and consult afterwards to stop the loss of revenue and the abuse of the system. Subject only to that reservation, there is everything to be gained by Ministers taking a considered view and consulting experts and interested parties if they need to redefine the heads under which retirement income is established. I hope that they will bear that in mind and give us the assurances that we want.