Clive Betts
Main Page: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)Department Debates - View all Clive Betts's debates with the HM Treasury
Guaranteed Income for Retirees
Clive Betts Excerpts(8 years, 5 months ago)
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The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Harriett Baldwin)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I am not quite sure what the sporting achievements mentioned earlier are, but I look forward to hearing about them.
Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)
I think the word “achievements” might be stretching it a little bit, but we will pass over that for the time being. [Laughter.]
Harriett Baldwin
I congratulate the hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) on securing the debate and making a thoughtful, constructive contribution to our national debate on securing a guaranteed income for retirees. Perhaps I should not confess this, but if Wikipedia is correct, I am the one who should declare an interest as being closest to retirement age of all those speaking in the debate—but perhaps Wikipedia may not be accurate. That has happened before.
Harriett Baldwin
I am sure that, like me, the hon. Gentleman is a passionate feminist and thinks it important that men and women have the same pension age. I appreciate, however, that the process of transition from the much earlier age at which women were retiring will, depending on people’s circumstances, have posed a range of challenges, of which the Government are well aware. As a constituency MP, I am also well aware of such issues. I will write to the hon. Member for Torfaen and the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Roger Mullin) with more specific points from my noble colleague.
Shall I conclude with my impassioned concluding remarks, Mr Betts, or is everyone happy to stop there?
Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)
It is up to you, Minister. You have time if you wish to impassion us.
Harriett Baldwin
I will say something in conclusion as we have time.
I thank all hon. Members who have participated in the debate. How people access an income in retirement is an incredibly important question. It is also an issue of huge international importance. I have summarised a range of changes that have been made over the past five years. The more recent pension freedoms are major changes and it is important that we get them right, which is why the Government and the regulator will continue actively to monitor the post-reform retirement landscape closely.
Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)
I was only too pleased earlier that, as I was in the Chair, I was not able to join in the competition about who was nearest to retirement age. We will move on to Mr Ian Blackford winding up briefly.