(1)Section 45 of the [1993 c. 48.] Pension Schemes Act 1993 (minimum contributions to personal pension schemes) is amended as follows.
(2)For subsection (1) there is substituted—
“(1)In relation to any tax week falling within a period for which the Secretary of State is required to pay minimum contributions in respect of an earner, the amount of those contributions shall be an amount equal to the appropriate age-related percentage of so much of the earnings paid in that week (other than earnings in respect of contracted-out employment) as exceeds the current lower earnings limit but not the current upper earnings limit for that week (or the prescribed equivalents if he is paid otherwise than weekly)”.
(3)Subsection (2) is omitted.
(4)In subsection (3)(e), the words following “prescribed period” are omitted.
(5)After that section there is inserted—
(1)The Secretary of State shall at intervals of not more than five years lay before each House of Parliament—
(a)a report by the Government Actuary or the Deputy Government Actuary on the percentages which, in his opinion, are required to be specified in an order under this section so as to reflect the cost of providing benefits of an actuarial value equivalent to that of the benefits which, under section 48A, are foregone by or in respect of members of appropriate personal pension schemes,
(b)a report by the Secretary of State stating what, in view of the report under paragraph (a), he considers those percentages should be, and
(c)a draft of an order under subsection (2).
(2)An order under this subsection—
(a)shall have effect in relation to a period of tax years (not exceeding five), and
(b)may, for each of the tax years for which it has effect, specify different percentages in respect of earners by reference to their ages on the last day of the preceding year (the percentage for each group of earners being “the appropriate age-related percentage” in respect of earners in that group for the purposes of section 45).
(3)If the draft of an order under subsection (2) is approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, the Secretary of State shall make the order in the form of the draft.
(4)An order under subsection (2) shall have effect from the beginning of such tax year as may be specified in the order, not being a tax year earlier than the second after that in which the order is made.
(5)Subsection (2) is without prejudice to the generality of section 182”.