(Parliamentary Under Secretary
of State for Pensions & Financial Inclusion): I am
tabling this statement for the benefit of Honourable and Right
Honourable Members to bring to their attention secondary
legislation to ensure that seafarers and offshore workers
continue to benefit from automatic enrolment into workplace
pensions.
Our workplace pension reforms are designed to address the fact
that millions of people were not saving enough for their
retirement, and automatic enrolment (AE) was created to help them
with their long-term pension savings. AE has been a great success
to date. Over 10 million people have been automatically enrolled
into a workplace pension and more than 1.6 million employers have
complied with their legal duties across the whole economy. It is
estimated that 26,000 more workers in the maritime industries
were saving into a workplace pension in 2019 as a result of AE.
After the Pensions Act 2008 became law, most employers were
brought into AE duties via secondary legislation introduced in
2011 but it was decided to give more time for employers in the
maritime industries to allow for fuller consideration of the
circumstances of workers in this sector. Seafarers and offshore
workers were subsequently brought into AE in July 2012, via
regulations and an Order in Council, and following a further
public consultation. The 2012 legislation included sunset clauses
taking effect on 1st July 2020.
Following a Post Implementation Review (PIR) in 2018 (which can
be viewed, here: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1388/pdfs/uksiod_20121388_en.pdf)
and, based on the available evidence, the government concluded
that AE should continue to apply to all qualifying workers in the
maritime industries. In order to deliver on the review’s
recommendation, I am today announcing my intention to lay
instruments in both Houses. These instruments will remove the
sunset clause from the existing legislation so that it continues
to provide for workplace pensions for eligible employees in those
industries.
In accordance with Section 149 of the Equality Act, I can confirm
I have given due regard to the need to: eliminate discrimination,
harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is
prohibited by or under the Act; advance equality of opportunity
between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and
persons who do not share it; foster good relations between
persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons
who do not share it. In respect of these instruments, I have
considered my duties under section 31(3) of the Small Business,
Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. In my view, it is not
appropriate to make provision for a further statutory review in
The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic
Enrolment) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment will be published alongside these
instruments, and can be viewed at www.legislation.gov.uk. The
Regulatory Policy Committee have validated this impact assessment
which has been given a green rating.
