A bill which would extend auto-enrolment to those aged 18 and over is set to make its way through the House of Lords at pace.
The pensions (extension of automatic enrolment) (no. 2) bill looks set for a quick passage through the House of Lords, with peers agreeing to skip committee stage this week.
The bill missed the committee stage and the report stage and is now set to have its third reading in the Lords before the amendments are considered and it gains Royal Assent.
According to consultancy LCP, the likelihood now is that the bill will complete all stages before Parliament goes into conference recess next week.
A spokesperson for LCP, said: “Once the bill receives Royal Assent the Department for Work & Pensions will be able to consult on the implementation approach and the timetable for the proposed auto-enrolment expansion, that earlier this year was being lined up for this autumn.”
The private members bill from backbench MP Jonathan Gullis, backed in March by the government, grants two extensions to auto-enrolment: abolishing the lower earnings limit for contributions and reducing the age for being automatically enrolled from 22 to 18 years old.
The expansion of automatic enrolment was originally proposed in 2017 by a government review, but no action had been taken since then to implement those proposals.
In March pensions minister Laura Trott said the reform would make a meaningful difference to people’s pension saving over the years ahead.
"Doing this will see the government deliver on our commitment to help grow the economy and support the hard-working people of this country, particularly groups such as women, young people and lower earners who have historically found it harder to save for retirement," said Trott at the time.
amy.austin@ft.com
