§ Lord Howie of Troonasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will make changes to the minimum funding requirement for occupational pension schemes. [HL2961]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)The minimum funding requirement (MFR) is not working as intended, and we have announced proposals to replace it as soon as parliamentary time for the necessary primary legislation becomes available. These proposals will mean better protection and more effective security for pension scheme members, and we are currently working with the pensions industry, consumer organisations, employers and trade unions to take our proposals forward.
In the meantime regulations have been laid before Parliament today which will enable the MFR to operate more effectively in the period leading up to its replacement and which improve protection for members when an employer decides to wind a scheme up. Draft regulations were issued for consultation on 18 September 2001, and the consultation period ended on 10 December. A summary of the responses to the consultation has been placed in the Library.