Cost of Living: Pensioners

Debate between Lord Flight and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Thursday 26th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

Noble Lords know that the triple lock was suspended for this year in very difficult circumstances in the country, but the Chancellor has confirmed that it will be reinstated.

[Lord Flight (Con)]

My Lords, how much has the state pension increased by since 2010, both as a proportion and as an amount of money?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

As I said earlier, since 2010, the state pension has risen by £2,300 in cash terms and the full-year basic state pension is now over 45% higher than in 2010.

State Pension Age

Debate between Lord Flight and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Tuesday 18th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I doubt I will be able to convince the noble Lord, but nobody wants pensioners to be in poverty and nobody wants to run a book on transferring wealth from one place to the other. The noble Lord raises a valid point. I know I am repeating myself, but it is one that I expect will be in the review; knowing how much knowledge the noble Lord has, especially on how to pay for these things, I look for him to have input into the review.

[Lord Flight (Con)]

My Lords, in the last two years, life expectancy has been below the expectancy of the industry. If that continues to be the case, does it mean that slight pension increases could be afforded?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I imagine that, if things go as my noble friend has just said, that is a possibility, but I am not able to confirm it. Again, I urge my noble friend, who has a raft of experience in this field, to get his point into the review.

Covid-19: Over-60s

Debate between Lord Flight and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Monday 12th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I completely agree with the noble Lord that it is patronising and not a good thing to be judging people aged over 60, because of their ability to work or otherwise. Noble Lords in this House—I include myself in that—would say that they work very hard and make a great contribution to the country. We owe a huge debt to the over-60 generation, but I am afraid I am not going to comment on what the World Health Organization says people should do.

[Lord Flight (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I first ask for clarification of whether the World Health Organization report is based solely on age and does not take potential physical condition into account. Secondly, what steps are the Government taking to prevent long-term unemployment among older workers as a result of Covid-19?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

On the noble Lord’s first point, I will need to write to him and clarify that answer. Secondly, the Government have recently announced their plan for jobs, doubling the number of work coaches and putting £150 million into the flexible support fund. The Government are also offering people all manner of support services. We are not writing anybody off and we are going to turn every stone to get people back to work.

Pension Schemes Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Flight and Baroness Stedman-Scott

3rd reading & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 15th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Flight (Con)]

My Lords, I add my congratulations to my noble friend, who has managed a complex and important territory most constructively. I also thank the Opposition for collaborating in a constructive way. I could not help thinking, as we come to the end of this bit of legislation, that if we look forward 30 years, we will then be in a very different age where people will live much longer and will retire later. There will have to be an adaption of their pension saving between now and then but, for the present, this Bill has done a very good job of addressing a difficult territory.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

I thank everybody for their comments and supportive remarks. What has really come out of this is that we collaborated, we talked, we listened and we made the Bill better. For that, I thank everybody.

Pension Schemes Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Flight and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Committee stage & Committee: 1st sitting & Committee: 1st sitting : House of Lords
Monday 24th February 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Flight]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. It is extraordinary that one group has a lot of requirements when another has none. Historically—let us say 30 years ago—trustees of pension schemes were often not remunerated. Someone applying to be a CDC trustee today would not think of taking on the responsibilities unless they were remunerated.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

On the first point made by the noble Lord, Lord Hutton, we will write to clarify things. We have not listed “significant events” in the Bill because if members are to be protected, it is important that such events can be adapted to emerging threats as well as lessons learned through live running. We want to ensure that these events are appropriate and reflect the specific risks that may be posed by CDC schemes. We will consult with the regulator and others before laying any regulations before Parliament. We will consider the noble Lord’s final point—it was well made—about pension scheme guidance in terms of the new CDC scheme and existing schemes and come back to him on it.