Clause 18
Pensions Bill
11:30 am
Mike O'Brien (Minister of State (Pension Reform), Department for Work and Pensions; North Warwickshire, Labour)
The hon. Member for Eastbourne has put the most pessimistic gloss upon the evidence that he possibly could, particularly in terms of the PPI evidence. I would not be surprised if the PPI was more than a little surprised, because its evidence and the launch of its report suggested that up to 9 million people would be enrolled in pension saving as a result of these changes. Indeed, what we are likely to see—far from a levelling down—is a levelling up. We will see millions of people saving for pension schemes who did not previously do so.
The millions of people who will be better off as a result of this Bill are the reasons why Help the Aged, Age Concern, and a vast array of organisations supporting the elderly, are behind it. The same is true for various business groups, the trade unions and others who want to see effective savings.
One person who was not quoted by the hon. Gentleman was Lord Turner. The noble Lord said in his evidence:
“We must recognise that there is at least some danger in some sectors of levelling down, but I think it is relatively small. The net effect of what is being proposed in the Bill will result in a levelling up...I am convinced that there will be a large number of large companies that will continue to provide, in some form or another, pensions that are much better than the minimum standard.”