Key Facts

• The grouping of amendments with clauses 107 to 117 stand part was causing uncertainty.
• Laurence Robertson has exercised the Chair’s right to amend these groupings.
• Amendments and clauses will be discussed after amendment 20 is disposed.
• Amendments relate to clause 118 of the Pension Schemes Bill [Lords].
• Amendment 1 requires forecasts and information on state pension entitlements.
• Amendment 2 seeks to include information about the impact of the 'triple lock' policy since 2011/2012.
• Amendments address changes in state pension age, ESG targets, support for vulnerable individuals, and clarity between service types.
• Clause 118 provides powers to set standards for qualifying pensions dashboard services.
• Nearly 40,000 schemes will have to provide data in a suitable format.
• The Government opposes an amendment that would prevent financial transactions through the dashboard.
• The cost is primarily funded through Treasury funding and the pension levy.
• £5 million was set aside for HMRC's work related to the state pension provision.
• The dashboard will be available free of charge to constituents.
• The programme aims to include environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) information in a future version but not initially due to simplicity concerns.
• Money and Pensions Service has a statutory objective to ensure information is accessible to those most in need.
• Amendment 7 addresses concerns about commercial dashboards and potential risks to savers.
• Baroness Drake raised concerns in the House of Lords about vulnerabilities with a dashboard allowing financial transactions.
• The FCA reported that product sales data indicated substantial asset movement from defined-benefit (DB) schemes into non-workplace markets since pension reforms were introduced in 2015.
• Labour's research found almost 15,000 women over the age of 65 claiming universal credit due to state pension age changes.
• The Bill now includes a new clause on climate change and TCFD recommendations following Government amendments.
• Amendments require trustees and managers to take climate change targets into account in governance and disclosure.
• The amendments aim to empower individuals to understand their savings' role in tackling climate change through better ESG performance information.
• Baroness Stedman-Scott expressed interest in evolving the dashboard to include ESG data over time.
• Amendment 7 allows commercial dashboards to facilitate financial transactions.
• Only 14% of all pension pots accessed were done so after receiving guidance from Pension Wise.
• Amendments 1, 2, 4, and 5 seek to add information about state pensions for women born in the 1950s and tie up loose ends left by pension freedoms.
• Amendment 14 provides greater information to consumers regarding environmental, social, and corporate governance targets.
• The Bill aims to lay the foundation for data standards and is not focused on the dashboard's final functionality.
• Auto-enrolment has led to multiple pension pots, making it difficult for consumers to track their benefits.
• There are currently 8 million small pots in the UK, expected to rise to around 27 million by 2035.
• Earl Howe emphasized the importance of advice and guidance before significant pensions transactions.
• Amendment 14 addresses environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) targets.
• Angela Eagle comments on Government amendment 7 which removes Baroness Drake’s amendment.
• The pensions dashboard aims to help individuals navigate the complex UK pension landscape.
• Baroness Drake’s amendment proposes that the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) dashboard should be in place for a year before other dashboards follow.
• The former Chancellor George Osborne anticipated completion by 2019 but did not account for industry engagement.
• There are over 40,000 schemes that need to be created with a common dataset.
• Industry failure to prepare properly could have consequences for organisations and constituents.
• Solutions for the small pots problem include consolidation based on cost-efficiency or ESG preferences.
• The Minister is opposed to ruling out financial transactions on the dashboard without future primary legislation.
• Some pension schemes may not participate voluntarily but there are no current obligations specified for them.
• The amendment from Baroness Drake would restrict the capability of the dashboard if accepted.
• The amendments aim to add details about administrative charges to the list of information displayed on the pensions dashboard.
• A study by Which? found that 77% of people would likely use a pensions dashboard, with state pension entitlement being the most desired piece of information (74%).
• More than 70% of non-advised drawdown customers paid more than 0.75% in charges annually, costing them £40 million to £50 million extra each year.
• The general problem with small pots is set charging in pounds rather than percentage-based charges.
• Focusing solely on costs can discourage people from investing due to perceived excessive charges.
• New clause 11 contains an idea for managing small pots and addressing unintended consequences of auto-enrolment.
• The current Bill includes provisions for pension information.
• There is a charge cap limiting how much can be charged annually.
• Ongoing consultations on standardizing cost disclosure are expected to conclude by the end of the year or beginning of next year.
• The proposed amendment extends the period before commercial dashboards can operate from one year to five years.
• Seema Malhotra's amendment requires a report on the operation and effectiveness of the public dashboard service, including consumer protections.
• Clause 122 relates to the Money and Pensions Service's pensions guidance function.
• The amendment introduced by Baroness Drake would require a single public dashboard to operate for one year before other commercial dashboards could launch.
• Labour's position is that a single publicly run dashboard ensures trusted information about pensions.
• In a multiple-dashboard system, providers may have incentives to promote their own products and discourage switching.
• The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) supports a single non-commercial pensions dashboard hosted by MAPS.
• PLSA opposes Government amendments that would allow commercial dashboards to provide transactional services without the one-year buffer.
• Robertson cautions against rushing into market entry for commercial dashboards due to potential risks of scams and mis-selling.
• The process involves dynamic data handling without storage.
• Similar to cashpoint withdrawals where banks do not share account details with each other.
• Open banking involved a strict regulatory regime and stakeholder buy-in.
• There are approximately 40,000 pension schemes compared to a smaller number of banks in open banking.
• Amendment 16 proposes delaying the introduction of commercial dashboards.
• Which? agrees with concerns about data application but does not support the amendment due to potential risks to innovation.
• The Pension Tracing Service and 'Check your State Pension' already exist as public organisations addressing similar issues.
• Secondary legislation is subject to parliamentary scrutiny through the affirmative resolution procedure.
• Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has submitted PSB01.
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has submitted PSB02.
• Association of British Insurers (ABI) has submitted PSB03.
• Henry Tapper, Chair of Pension PlayPen and CEO of AgeWage Ltd, has submitted PSB04.