Pensions Bill

We strongly support this amendment, which, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, said, allows greater flexibility over voluntary backdated NICs to allow workers to fill in gaps in their NI record for any period of their working life up to a total of nine years instead of the much more limited current arrangement whereby some contribution arrears can be paid within six years. This will be a simple but very important reform which could be brought in before the 2010 reforms to allow women not gaining from the reduction to 30 qualifying years to increase their entitlement to both pensions. We have to face it: those at the beginning or even in the middle of their working lives simply do not look forward clearly to their retirement years. When and if they do review their pension entitlement, they may find that they have a gap of several years but are too late to buy added years within the current rules. This is a much more modest amendment than the previous one. For that very reason, I hope that the Government will be able to accept it.