20 January 2021
The Pension Schemes Bill (the Bill) went through the ‘consideration of amendments’ stage in Parliament on 19 January 2021.
When a bill has passed through its third reading in both Houses of Parliament, it is returned to the first House where it started life (the Lords, in the case of this Bill) for any amendments made by the second House to be considered. A bill may go back and forth between each House until both Houses reach agreement on the exact wording of the bill – hence this stage is also known as ‘ping pong'. This is a process that can take weeks or even months to complete.
As the Commons had made amendments to the Bill, it had to go back to the Lords for them to consider those amendments and either agree or disagree to them or make alternative proposals. Thankfully, the process started and finished on 19 January 2021.
Now that the wording of the Bill has been agreed by both the Commons and the Lords, it is ready for Royal Assent making it an Act of Parliament and its provisions the law. At the date of writing, Royal Assent to the Bill has yet to be scheduled. Even when it does become law, many of its provisions will not come into effect for some time and there will need to be a raft of secondary legislation and associated guidance before its full effects become clear.
EQ Paymaster will be tracking the continued progress of the Bill as it passes through Royal Assent and monitoring for the publication of any relevant secondary legislation.
From the Team at Equiniti