Pensions: Low-income and Self-employed Workers

Lord Davies of Brixton Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

It is a delight to stand here and enjoy cross-party support for a new provision, and I thank the noble Viscount. On his point about the level of employer contribution, the Government have been clear that there will be no increase in the current rate in this Parliament, but the noble Viscount makes a genuine point about how we make sure that people have enough money in retirement. That is why we have established a new Pensions Commission to look at these issues in the round. The noble Viscount states that 18 months is a long time, but the last Pensions Commission took five years. We are talking about matters that will have an impact for decades to come, and so we need to make sure we have the right steps in the right place at the right time. Auto-enrolment was an incredibly important step that has nearly doubled the number of people saving. No pressure on my noble friend Lady Drake, but she now has a significant job to do to make sure we are fit for the future, so that future generations, including my own, have the right level of pension savings.

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

My Lords, I too welcome the commission, chaired by my noble friend Lady Drake, and the timetable; a two-year period for something of this importance is right. It gives the possibility of legislation in the current Parliament, so perhaps I will be here to take part in it. Given the timetable and the wide terms of reference, can my noble friend give an assurance that the Government will not be making any short-term changes that might pre-empt the decisions of the commission? The triple lock is the most obvious example, but others include tax relief on member contributions.

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his support. I reassure all noble Lords that this Government and our party have zero plans to change anything about the triple lock in this Parliament, which cannot be said of all political parties, unfortunately. With the Pensions Commission, we have brought together national experts to make sure that we have a plan in place going forward, and of course we will not pre-empt the decisions it is going to make. We will have ongoing opportunities to discuss these issues when the Pension Schemes Bill is before noble Lords later in this Session.