(Con): My
Lords, I see that on the website of an organisation called This is
Money, published on 20 January, Mr Opperman, who is of course the
Minister with responsibility, is quoted as saying that he
“believes a new commission should review the future of the
automatic enrolment system”.
Noble Lords may also remember that on 17 January, two think
tanks, the Fabian Society and Bright Blue, launched a report
calling for a cross-party commission on pensions. Responding to
that, an organisation called B&CE published
the following comments:
“Commenting, , Minister for Pensions,
said: ‘Over the last decade, Conservative and coalition
governments have made huge strides to improve pensions for the
next generation, with the introduction of auto-enrolment, an
enhanced state pension and the development of the Pensions
Dashboard. For the next stage of pension reform, we need to
continue the consensus that emerged following the Pensions
Commission of 2003 to 2005. A new Commission has cross-party
support, and will help us map out the future of auto-enrolment,
so we can boost contribution rates in the coming decades, and
explore how we can support savers with pensions freedom reforms.
Let’s not give up on the progress we’ve made in pensions through
cross-party working. It’s time to explore ideas for the next
generation’.”
It therefore seems that the thinking behind the proposed new
clause in the name of the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, has some
support at the moment within the DWP...
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