"My Lords, last year, the Government revived the Pensions Commission to examine how to improve retirement outcomes for future generations. Its interim report, published on 19 May 2026, sets out key challenges with the current system and priorities for the next phase of work. It highlights that too many people, …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"I can indeed, and I am grateful to my noble friend for his welcome back. He will forgive me, as I will not be able to give him any specific answers on the future rates of the state pension; if I pre-empt the Budget, I think I may be the …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"I now realise that I did a terrible job, because repeatedly during the passage of the Pension Schemes Act I tried to explain why that was not right, and I utterly failed—I will have one last go. The Government set out a pensions investment review to look at the state …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"My Lords, I am not pre-empting anything that the commission will say, but the Government are very aware of the position of people who have terminal illnesses. As the noble Baroness of course knows very well, we have looked at some of the rules around how, for example, the benefits …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"The noble Lord raises an excellent point. In fact, we have seen a significant drop. In the 1990s, roughly half of people who were self-employed were saving for a pension; it is now under 20%. There are more self-employed people now and there are different kinds of self-employment. However, there …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"I am grateful—I will never be so appreciated ever again, so I am really going to enjoy this session. My noble friend raises an important point. In a sense, it is up to individual schemes what their rules are for indexing their pensions. The minimum legal requirements for indexation have …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"Yes. The single best guarantee of a happy retirement is a happy working life where people have the opportunity to earn enough money and to save enough money. We absolutely are doing huge amounts—I will not recite it all here as I have done many times before—and investing in all …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"My Lords, the law is clear at the moment. The state pension age is now gradually rising from 66 to 67. That began in April 2026, and it will finish in March 2028. What I can say about the state pension age is that, as legislated by the previous Government, …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for introducing her Motion. I am also grateful to all noble Lords for their contributions, and I appreciate their many kind words. If I had even a moment’s thought that they meant I would get away with anything at …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech
"The noble Baroness raises an excellent question about schools and education, and I reassure her that my department is working very closely with the Department for Education to address it. I am sure that she has read the interim report from Alan Milburn, so she will know that he identified …..." Baroness Sherlock - View Speech