§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further action he proposes now to take to promote transferability between pension schemes; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DeanThe Social Security Bill provides for the transfer of pension rights as an alternative to the preservation of benefits calculated under the Bill, and there is provision for the Occupational Pensions Board to help schemes modify their rules, where necessary, to enable transfer facilities to be introduced. I hope that scheme administrators and employers will increasingly find that the transfer of rights between schemes is a convenient means of discharging their liabilities, and that they will emulate, and where appropriate take part in, the expanded and improved transfer arrangements shortly to be introduced in the public sector. It may also be that the Occupational Pensions Board, when it has completed its initial tasks under the Bill, will be able to consider how any remaining practical difficulties can best be alleviated or removed.
§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has with regard to the number of persons covered by money purchase schemes, and the level of benefits and bonuses provided by such schemes; and whether he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. DeanIt will take a little time for the Government Actuary to extract what information is available but I will write to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether an occupational pension scheme which provides a pension at retirement based on 1 per cent. of earnings for the first 20 years of employment and 2 per cent. of earnings for the next 20 years contravenes the Social Security Bill and, in particular, Schedule 14(8)(1).
§ Mr. DeanThis would depend on the rules of the particular scheme, on which only the Occupational Pensions Board could give an authoritative determination under its powers in Clause 60 of the Social Security Bill. But it would not, as such, be contrary to the provisions of Schedule 14 to the Bill for a scheme to base its general formula for benefits at pension age on a higher accrual rate for later years than for the earlier years of service. Such a scheme would, however, appear to come within the definition in paragraph 10(3)(a) of the schedule, and hence the benefits required to be preserved for members leaving before pension age would have to be calculated according to the formula described in paragraph 11. This would mean that, to calculate entitlement to deferred benefits, a uniform rate of accrual would be imposed over the whole period of pensionable service which could have been put in up to normal pension age. In this way the early leaver would receive a fair proportion of the benefit he would have received had lie remained in the scheme until attaining that age.