Pensions Bill

I take on board that point, and I have had an argument about that each time I have raised this issue. None the less, what women will say is, ““I didn’t get the advice.”” What they heard and what they were told might be two completely different things, but the end result is that many women were left in poverty in retirement because what happened to them was unexpected and they had not made provision, whereas if they had thought things through—if things had been slightly different—they would have done so. Some of them say, ““I could have paid it, but I didn’t because I thought I’d still get a pension; so things went wrong.”” Things are different now, in that women earn more and their employment status has changed, but it is really important that we get it right this time. Who will be responsible for providing not just detailed advice some way down the line, but the initial information: the employer, the new authority, the Government or the new national independent financial advice service that the Government heralded this week? What arrangements will be made to ensure that the information is comprehensible? One difficulty is that pensions is a very obscure and complex subject. With the best will in the world, it can be very hard to ensure that the information provided can be understood by the general public, as well as by the experts. We need to be sure that people know what is happening to their money and what choices they can make, and that they do not find 30 or 40 years down the line that they are paying the price of a badly worded leaflet, or of having been given some unclear information. The Bill will go a very long way toward righting a wrong that has caused misery to many women in retirement. I have asked my hon. Friend the Minister for some assurances and further information, which I hope he will give, but as I understand it, 500,000 more women will get full-time state pensions as a result of this legislation. I hope that it will ensure that people make personal provision for their future security, mark the end of a long-running injustice that many women in my constituency have experienced, and provide them and their families with real security in old age.