“Having rapidly passed through parliament in a matter of months, with cross-party consensus intact, we had high hopes that the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (no. 2) Bill would receive Royal Assent this month before parliamentary recess on 20 July. However, the government has clearly run out of time, with the Committee stage in the House of Lords pushed back to 12 September, a week after parliament restarts. It’s bitterly disappointing that this really important piece of legislation will now be delayed until September, which could push this back considerably, as there’s still a few stages to get through. If the Bill fails to get Royal Assent before the King’s Speech, which is due to take place sometime in the autumn, there’s a real risk that the process will have to start all over again, or even worse, be kicked into the long grass.
“This legislation will not only bring younger people into the scope of auto-enrolment, allowing them to start saving in a workplace pension from age 18 instead of 22, but could be particularly helpful for low to mid-earners, enabling them to build up a larger pension pot under further changes that will see employer and employee contributions based on earnings from the first £ rather than applying a £6,240 salary offset.“
1. Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament
2. 2017 reforms of auto enrolment
• Reduce the minimum age from 22 to 18
• Remove the salary offset of £6,240 and calculate auto enrolment contributions from the first £
3. The King's Speech is the speech that the King reads out in the Lords Chamber on the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament. It sets out the programme of legislation that the Government intend to pursue in the forthcoming parliamentary session. The date has not yet been announced.
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