Pensions Bill

My Lords, I hope that my noble friend the Minister will be able to accept the amendment tabled by my noble friend Lady Hollis. In effect, it deals with the historical problem of women not being encouraged to pay their own contributions or to think in terms of earning a pension in their own right. Policies have changed, and the Government’s policy is to encourage people to save and invest as much as they can during their working lives in order to have an adequate pension when they retire. However, they do not necessarily retire at the minimum state retirement age. We are now encouraged to continue beyond the minimum retirement age, and we are moving up to a period when men and women will have an equal retirement age. This discrimination will not be so great in the future. I hope, therefore, that the Minister will see that the principles behind the amendment meet the Government’s objectives and that he will be prepared on those grounds, and on the grounds of fairness and social justice, to accept the amendment.