The House of Lords in the UK will consider the House of Commons’ amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill on 19 January, the UK government has confirmed.

As reported by our sister publication, Pensions Age, the announcement has led to suggestions that the bill could become the Pension Schemes Act 2021 as early as the middle of next week.

If the Lords agrees to the amendments and wording of the bill it can receive royal assent and become law.

However, if the Lords disagrees with any of the Commons' amendments, or makes alternative proposals, the bill will be sent back to the Commons and can ‘ping pong’ between the houses until they reach an agreement.

The bill sets out the framework for the introduction of pensions dashboards and collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes, expands The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR’s) powers, and requires schemes to adopt and report against the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

It passed the report stage and third reading in the House of Commons on 16 November 2020, with several proposed amendments, including committing schemes to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and mandatory Pension Wise appointments, being voted down by the Commons.

UK Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, previously stated that he expected the bill to become law by the end of 2020.

He has also previously said that he expects there to be a further pensions bill in the current parliament, which would include defined benefit pension superfund legislation.

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