The unusual move could delay the introduction of the Occu-pational Personal and Stakeholder Pension (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2009 until they have been scrutinised by the House of Commons general committee on delegated legislation.
The regulations would allow trustees to override the rules of their schemes to reduce the link between deferred and pensioner benefits and inflation with the agreement of their sponsor.
The government estimates this could save defined benefit (DB) schemes as much as £400m a year.
Shadow pensions minister Nigel Waterson said: “These are complex regulations that de-serve a proper debate instead of being rubber-stamped.
“We also have concerns regarding statutory override. As the instrument is currently drafted, pension schemes would only be able to amend their rules by trustee resolution and not by employer initiative.”
The EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, and the Confederation of British Industry, had hoped the government would introduce the measure to ease the burden on the sponsors of DB schemes.
However, the government decided the statutory override should be carried out by only the trustees with the consent of the scheme’s employer.
David Yeandle, head of employment policy at the EEF, said: “I will be encouraging Nigel Waterson to press for the override in these regulations to be extended.”
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said involving both trustees and employers would ensure relevant issues are properly considered before decisions are made.
The debate is expected to take place after Easter.
