Clause 52
Pensions Bill
2:30 pm
Mike O'Brien (Minister of State (Pension Reform), Department for Work and Pensions; North Warwickshire, Labour)
I am slightly perplexed by this amendment. It is entirely appropriate that we should debate whether it pays to save and also issues around levelling down. The members’ panels, however, are primarily going to be looking at how the scheme itself operates. It is primarily an internally-focused operation looking at whether this pension scheme is properly run, adequately delivering to the members and whether its strategies are taking account of the views of the members. I think that is a pretty big job.
What the hon. Gentleman is suggesting is that members of the panel should be more outward-looking, examining the impact of personal accounts on levelling down, the benefit system, whether it pays to save and that they should be aware of these things because of the impact on members. I appreciate that these things will have an impact on the members, I am just not sure what impact the members’ panel could have on those things as a members’ panel. It is essentially looking to the board of trustees and ensuring that the board of trustees is doing things that are in the interest of the members. It is a sort of sounding board for the trustees on the operation of the pension scheme.
So while I think these are perfectly proper and legitimate issue which we can debate in a wider context, I am just not sure that they are what I would expect the members’ panel to be focusing on. They will have enough work to do without focusing on those issues. I have no problem with them having information about these things, I am just not convinced that this is what they ought to be up to.
I am confident there will be a proper flow of information between the trustee and the panels, the trustee board will be as keen as the government to make all this work. I do not think it is appropriate to specify the types of information they need to fulfil their duty, to some extent that is for the members’ panels to determine for themselves. I hear what he says about research and if they wanted to get reports on pays to save and whether there is any levelling down, I do not see any reason why they should not get that, but what I would hope if I were ever a member of personal accounts is that whoever is on the members’ panel will be watching the decisions being made by the trustees board and ensuring the trustee is acting in the interest of the members and that investment decisions, the management, the operation, the procedures, the processes of collection and administration and payment are all ones which are in the interests of the members. I just see a different role so I am a little perplexed by the amendment. I do not dispute that the issues are ones we need to discuss, I am just not sure they are issues for the members’ panels. I do not object to them discussing them, it is a matter for them.