SUPERANNUATION SCHEMES (WAR SERVICE) BILL. (Hansard, 11 June 1940)

§ LORD TRYON

My Lords, this Bill also has a direct connection with the war. Your Lordships will be aware from the newspapers of the great addition to the number of people at work; and a great effort has been made to divert individual people from work which is not of great national importance to work where they can contribute more effectively to the national effort. There is, however, a risk in existing circumstances that some of them may lose the rights which they have under various employment schemes to pension and to superannuation generally. It is of vital importance that this effort to move people from one occupation to another where they will be doing more war work should not be in any way discouraged by the feeling among the workers that they will be losing superannuation rights. Indeed, the field covered by this Bill amounts to about 6,500 firms, companies or businesses, and the number of workers amounts to 1,500,000; so that it is of considerable importance.

With regard to civil employment, unless power is given to the trustees or other persons concerned with the administration of a superannuation scheme to undertake such measures as are necessary to prevent loss of superannuation rights, any men and women transferring to employment for war service from employment covered by a superannuation scheme would suffer a loss. Many concerns have been anxious to maintain the rights of their employees who have volunteered or who have been called up, and this Bill gives the necessary powers. The Bill is an enabling BILL. and does not compel employers or trustees to take advantage of its provisions. It has been discussed by the National Advisory Council which represents the organisations of employers and trade unions. The Government are asking the House to pass the Bill in the confident expectation that full use will be made of it, and that 516 employers who can spare workpeople covered by their superannuation schemes for work of urgent national importance will do so to the greatest possible extent, and will put no obstacle in the way of such transfers. It would be a difficult matter to make the Bill compulsory, owing to the very wide variation in the nature and terms of superannuation schemes. If, however, the Bill does not achieve the object desired, the Government will not hesitate to suggest further legislation to enforce conditions similar to those which the Bill permits. With regard to service in the Armed Forces, the Bill covers such service whatever the way in which a man has entered these Forces, either as a volunteer or through being called up.

The Ministry of Labour and National Service will decide what civil employment should be recognised for the purposes of the Bill. Broadly, the intention is to recognise employment in all the industries essential for the maintenance of the war effort—that is, armaments, ship-building, coal mining and agriculture. Service in A.R.P. work and the Auxiliary Fire Service will also be recognised. The proposals of the Bill have been discussed with the representatives of the life insurance companies. Many private firms operate their schemes largely through insurance companies, who issue group policies to cover both pension benefit and life insurance benefit. The insurance companies have agreed that, where payment of contributions is continued, they will allow the employee concerned to continue in any scheme without loss of pension rights. If the contributions are not continued, the benefit clear to the date of cessation of payments will be protected and contributions may be resumed at the end of the war upon the return of the employee and re-entry to the scheme.

With regard to life assurance benefits, the group premiums cover only the risks allowed for in the original employment, and make no allowance for increased hazards such as military or other wartime service. In the case of men serving in the Armed Forces, provision has already been made by the Government for death and disability attributable to war service. In most cases the provisions of the scheme will enable employees transferred to civil employment where there is a material increase in risk to effect an 517 individual policy for the amount for which he has hitherto been covered without evidence of health. I have spent a good deal of time endeavouring to condense the essential principles of this Bill into as few words as possible, and I will only add that the Government regard the passing of this Bill as an urgent matter and hope that it may soon become law.