Pensions Bill

I should mention my noble friend Lady Noakes, now we are almost at the end of the Bill, who apologises for not being here to grill the Minister in her inimitable way. Alas, she had another appointment. My noble friend and I gave notice that we wished to debate this clause because of concerns that had been expressed about the way in which the regulator is potentially usurping the proper role of trustees when valuing the assets and liabilities of a scheme. It takes the regulator into areas of judgment that are properly those of trustees. The Government have described the need for this clause in the Explanatory Notes. Paragraph 306 on page 46 states that, "““doubt has arisen as to whether the Pensions Regulator can make use of the powers in section 231(2) if the sole ground of concern is that the actuarial methods or assumptions used in the calculation of the technical provisions do not appear to have been chosen prudently””." Stated thus, Clause 110 seems unobjectionable. However, as is so often the case, what you read on the label does not fairly describe the contents. The amendment says nothing about prudence in the selection of actuarial assumptions. The regulator’s powers in Section 231 of the Pensions Act 2004, which are being amended by Clause 110, relate to the failure of the trustees and others to do certain things. The powers were not designed to be attached to judgmental issues such as pitching the regulator’s judgment about particular actuarial assumptions against those of trustees. The Government’s explanation of Clause 110’s amendment to this section does not tell the whole story. I agree that the regulator should have appropriate powers. However, given the extensive parliamentary consideration given to the Pensions Act 2004, we should be wary of further extension without good evidence of need. The regulator has been consulting on guidance on actuarial assumptions, and this has sent shockwaves through those who still struggle to support defined benefit schemes. The regulator has signalled that he will ““scrutinise””—this is code for something tougher—those schemes that do not use the long cohort for mortality improvement, or use underpinning improvement assumptions tending towards zero. I believe that I am correct in saying that most schemes at present use the medium cohort rather than the long cohort. This is a significant move, and one that has generated much controversy among pension providers; hence the need for this clarifying clause. The confusion that it is designed to clear up was the natural confusion felt by those who had no idea that the regulator should have the right to pronounce on judgments at this level, and who strongly resist such a move. The decision on whether a long or medium cohort should be used is one of many that the trustees must make on the advice of their actuary. It would be wrong if the regulator was able to impose the choice of a long cohort, with no evidence that a risk-based approach will be used. The long cohort may or may not be the right route to follow, but the concern is that this will be imposed on a big-bang basis and produce huge shocks to the funding assumptions of employers. We know that the Government believe in a risk-based approach. The Pension Protection Fund is predicated on just such an assumption. However, there is no evidence that the regulator will apply a risk-based approach to forcing changes. The evidence from the consultation document suggests the reverse. Furthermore, the regulator intends to go back to March 2007, and could potentially unpick hard-fought agreements about recovery plans between trustees and employing firms. This is the background to the additional power in Clause 110. The regulator has already moved beyond the basic approach that it is for the trustees to decide their actuarial assumptions on a prudent basis, and on the basis of actuarial advice. The regulator has various powers to back that up if the trustees are behaving improperly, including the power to appoint new trustees, which we have debated from time to time. Now the Government are seeking to give the regulator the power to overturn the trustees’ assumptions, even if they have been arrived at prudently on the basis of actuarial advice. It will be the regulator imposing the judgment over the trustees. We fear that this is another nail being hammered into the coffin of the trust-based foundation of defined benefit provision. I shall listen with interest to hear whether the Minister can allay the fears that have been expressed by the CBI and some individual, large, defined benefit scheme employers. If this is another nail in the coffin of DB schemes, it cannot be the right thing to be doing.