13 October 2006
The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a consultation
document seeking views on amending regulations, The Employment
Equality (Age) (Amendment No.2) Regulations 2006, which amend the
pension provisions of the age regulations.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1031)
(the "Age Regulations") came into force on 1 October 2006, but
provisions relating to pensions will come into force on 1 December
2006. The Age Regulations were introduced against a background of
frantic activity in the pensions sector to comply with sweeping
changes introduced by the Finance Act 2004. Since July, the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has received a range of
comments in relation to the impact of the Age Regulations on
occupational and personal pension schemes.
As a result of correspondence and meetings with the pensions
industry it became apparent that, if the DWP did not clarify the
Age Regulations and include further exemptions, there was a danger
that schemes would decide that the legal and financial risks of
continuing certain practices were too great. Therefore, in order to
avoid any future legal challenge, employers and trustees/managers
in relation to schemes would level down benefits provided by their
schemes or close their schemes.
As a result of postponing the implementation date of provisions
relating to pensions to 1 December 2006 and now making The
Employment Equality (Age) (Amendment No.2) Regulations 2006 (the
"Amending Age Regulations"), the DWP says that employers,
trustees/managers and their advisers will have more time to ensure
their rules are compliant with the Age Regulations and to ensure
they come within any available exemptions in Schedule 2 to those
Regulations. In addition they will have time to discuss and respond
to the informal consultation about the Amending Age
Regulations.
The consultation document seeks views on the
Amending Age Regulations which are being introduced to clarify and
add to the exemptions in Schedule 2 to the Age Regulations. The
consultation period started on 11 October 2006 and closes on 20
October 2006. This short period is necessary to bring the
regulations into force before 2 December 2006 (the deadline for
implementation of the Directive 2000/78/EC).
