The Pensions Bill 2011 has been introduced in the House of Lords by the minister for welfare reform Lord Freud.

The Bill introduces key measures to: implement workplace pension reform measures from the ‘Making Automatic Enrolment Work Review’; bring forward the timetable for increasing the state pension age to 66; and allow contributions to be taken towards the cost of providing personal pension benefits to current judicial pensions scheme members.

The Bill builds on reforms set out in the Pensions Act 2007 and the Pensions Act 2008.

Other measures included in the Bill include:

  • Increases the minimum threshold for auto-enrolment from the planned £5,000 annually to £7,000.
  • Aligns the earnings threshold for automatic enrolment with the personal allowance for income tax.
  • Introduces an optional waiting period of up to three months before employees need to be automatically enrolled.
  • Provides greater flexibility for employers around re-enrolment dates.
  • Brings forward the increase in state pension age to 66 by 2020 and bringing women’s state pension age in line with men’s to 65 by 2018.
  • Allows contributions to be taken towards the cost of providing personal pension benefits to current judicial pensions scheme members.

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