Pensions Bill

My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, has just said, the Minister and I stand in a rather difficult position—I put it that way—because the noble Baroness is, to an extent, quite right. There is absolutely no doubt that women are disadvantaged under the current system and many noble Lords have spoken of this. The burden of childcare or care for elderly or disabled relatives still falls much more heavily on them than on their male counterparts. Women are still more likely to work part-time or in low-paying jobs. All of this adds up to significant difference when it comes to pension entitlement, leaving women disproportionately likely to be in poverty, as my noble friend Lady Shephard said. That would make them dependent on means-tested pension credit. With that in mind, I am very sympathetic to the noble Baroness’s reasons for moving the amendment. However, I am not convinced that her provisions will do much more to help women than the Bill already does. The 30-year requirement combined with a much more generous system of carer contribution credits will do a great deal to help women meet the minimum requirements for a full state pension. I accept that there is a cliff edge of nine years, which is why nine years is stated in the noble Baroness’s amendment. What I do not know, and I do not know if anyone knows, is how many women currently use the six-year provision and how many are likely to be using the nine-year provision. Perhaps the Minister will be able to tell us the answer to that. There is another way of operating all this; it is not my party’s policy. I would like to hear the Minister’s reaction to the suggestion that, rather than being allowed to make up the last six years through class 3 payments, resident people, especially women, should be allowed to make up any six years of missing payments. I emphasise the word ““resident”” because I know that one of the Minister’s worries is that of increasing the bill for expatriate pensioners. My noble friend Lord Higgins said that this amendment discourages people from contributing to their pension throughout their life. It is—he did not say this, but this is what his view amounts to—a calculated gamble that they can meet the minimum requirements just before they retire. I do not believe that that is the right way to go.