Auto-enrolment & other new DWP Regs

The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/772) were published on the OPSI website on 18 March, although made a week earlier following approval by the House of Commons on 8 March and by the Lords on 9 March (reasons for the delay are unclear).

Secondary legislation can only be accepted or rejected by Parliament; it cannot be amended. Thus the SI corresponds to the revised draft laid before Parliament (see Aries article for background).

As we noted in our discussion of the draft regs, the original proposals governing self-certification were omitted, pending further consultation with the industry. This is ongoing. For just under an hour on 3 March the Commons General Committee debated the draft regs, and on the subject of self-certification the Minister described it as

"a very thorny, complex issue. ... We are committed to developing a user-friendly certification model for workplace money-purchase schemes ... that meets everybody's needs and, crucially, ensures that individuals are protected. The prize is to have a certification process that is simple and not too bureaucratic, but not full of loopholes. ... It is searching for that square-round object that is causing us such trouble; it might even be the holy grail. My officials are engaged in new discussions with stakeholders ... to discuss possible options. I am told that the discussions have been constructive. We are committed to trying to develop a workable solution to the certification saga. It is going to be a Norse saga if it carries on much longer. I remain eternally optimistic that we will be able to get something positive out of it."

Aries understands that DWP intends to submit a final proposal to Ministers in the summer, with a consultation on draft regulations to follow in early autumn 2010.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (SI 2010/793), published today, specifies the 2010/11 rates of a long list of state benefits, including the basic state pension. Under SSAA 92 s.150(1), the Secretary of State is required to review the levels of benefits annually with a further requirement, under s.150(2)(a), to increase contributory and non-contributory benefits at least in line with prices. The RPI actually fell over the 12 months to 30 September 2009, although average earnings slightly increased. Consequently some rates are unchanged for the forthcoming tax year, although the Government is keeping to its promise that the BSP would increase by at least 2.5% for the life of this Parliament. Key figures to note are: