Pension Schemes Bill passes in Lords
By Katey Pigden 20
th January 2021 8:36 am
The Pension Schemes Bill will be heading to the Queen for signed royal assent to become law after it was passed in the House of Lords yesterday.
Pensions minister Guy Opperman says the move will deliver pensions that are “safer, better and greener”.
The bill entered its final ‘ping-pong’ phase through parliament as the House of Commons and the House of Lords have been trying to resolve disagreements about the final text.
The Department for Work and Pensions parliamentary under-secretary of state baroness Deborah Stedman-Scott reminded Lords what the bill does “as a lot has happened” since it was last there.
Pensions and investments left untouched for years will be handed to good causes under plans to expand the dormant assets scheme, the Government has announced.
An estimated £800million could be raised by broadening the scope of the existing project, which has raised £745million from inactive bank and building society accounts since 2011.
A rule that money must always be returned in full should the original holder ever come forward will apply, and firms will still have to try to contact old customers and reunite them with their cash.
Dormant funds: Orphan pensions and investments worth £800m could be handed to charity
Three-quarters of UK adults who have received charity help this year have become dependent on regular support, research suggests.
Almost one in eight UK adults (14%) have received charity help since March, according to a survey, which also found that 55% of this group never expected they would need to turn to charity.
Three-quarters have been dependent on regular support during the coronavirus pandemic, the Opinium survey of 2,000 adults between December 1 and 3 found.
And more than a third (39%) expect to need charity support for at least another six months.
The research was commissioned by the Covid-19 Support Fund, which was established by the insurance and long-term savings industry and has raised £100 million for those hardest hit by the crisis.