Pensions: Low-income and Self-employed Workers

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My noble friend is very aware that I am a former trade union official who represented local government workers. I can give a complete commitment to the Local Government Pension Scheme. To be very clear, the terms of reference for the Pensions Commission do not touch on public sector pensions schemes. Anyone who thinks it is appropriate to target the pensions of some of our most important but poorer paid workers should be ashamed of themselves.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will know that the latest OECD figures show that 52% of adults in England have numeracy levels below those expected of primary school leavers, which can leave them struggling to understand percentages and to convert between monthly and annual payments. Does she agree that, in these circumstances, such people may be deterred from engaging with an industry in which there are apparently complex calculations between investment and outcomes? What can be done, alongside improving numeracy, to encourage the pension industry to speak not just in plain English but in plain numbers?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Baroness makes a genuinely important point about how we make sure that everybody has access to appropriate funding in their retirement. Even the language of pensions does not help us. This is deferred income and deferred salaries. We need to make sure that we are working with providers, employers and the general public, so that they understand the importance of our pension schemes and why they are so vital to their future.