13/01/2011
By Matt Ritchie
The UK Government has today published the Pensions Bill, which will implement measures in the Making Automatic Enrolment Work review and the Command Paper A sustainable State Pension: when the State Pension age will increase to 66.
The Bill builds on auto-enrolment reform brought about through the Pensions Act 2008, and State Pension reform introduced via the Pensions Act 2007.
In a statement, the Department for Work and Pensions said the Bill aligns the earnings threshold for automatic enrolment with the personal allowance for income tax, and introduces an optional waiting period of up to three months before employees need to be automatically enrolled.
The Bill also ‘simplifies’ the process for employers to certify their defined contribution schemes to meet requirements for auto-enrolment and provides greater flexibility for employers regarding re-enrolment dates.
In addition, the legislation brings forward the increase in the State Pension age - to 66 by 2020. Further, it brings women’s State Pension age in line with men’s - to 65 by 2018.
Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, said the Bill would "radically transform" the pensions landscape.
“Millions of people, who currently have little or nothing put by for their retirement will, from 2012, find themselves enrolled in a workplace pension – setting them on the road to a more secure future,” Webb said.
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