Pensions Bill

I shall withdraw the amendment but I still do not understand why payments have to be expeditious. Apparently they can be made for 30 years up to six years after the event. This cannot be an issue of cost. It is said that it is unfair to allow people to make extra contributions because of the additional cost to the rest of us, but we already allow 250,000 people years to be bought, often by students and so on who go on to be higher rate taxpayers. However, apparently we are not willing to do this for women. I cannot bottom out my noble friend’s argument. Why is it bad to make the payments at the end of your working life but good if you do it in the middle of your working life? Some women may know only at the end of their working life whether they need those extra years. If you cannot predict what you are going to need until you reach retirement age, you will be penalised, whereas a student, say, or someone who works all their life in a profession can predict what they are going to get and they can make the contributions. I am still completely baffled by why delayed payments are not permitted. Provided that the cost is right, what is fair for the gander should be fair for the goose.