Clause 1
Pensions Bill
12:15 pm
Andrew Selous (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I am tempted to think that we are coming back to the computer again; that we are being given complexity again as the reason why something cannot be done. I am slightly surprised by what the Minister says. He was good enough to say that he looked at these two amendments and thought that they seemed sensible. I stress that they would involve only a right or ability for those who requested it, not a blanket policy.
I am somewhat sceptical about the Minister’s comments that the amendments are hugely complex and would involve big change. Employers have systems for collecting national insurance, so I cannot believe that things would be that complicated. I fully agree that people should take advice on their individual circumstances. If, as the hon. Member for Northampton, North properly said, the right solution for a person is to defer and they choose to do so, that is excellent. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare, who sits on the Select Committee, said, for some people the route suggested by the amendments will be the right one to go down. It should be self-funding overall and I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.