Harriett Baldwin has lobbied for changes in the Pensions Bill currently being passed in the House of Commons. The MP tabled a new clause to the bill to ensure that more people shop around when turning their pensions into income on retirement. When the Pensions Bill becomes law, people will automatically enroll into private pension schemes and will build a pot of money to provide funds for their retirement. Harriett’s new clause is aimed at making it easier for people to shop around on retirement to find the best possible income. The new clause was signed by all the members of the Work and Pensions Select committee. Harriett, who was a pension fund manager before she became an MP, tabled the new clause following discussions with pensions experts. Harriett told the House of Commons: “Auto-enrolment will improve the pensions landscape in the country. For the first time, millions of ordinary workers will be brought into personal pensions. “I welcome this step, which I believe will, in the fullness of time, reduce the number of my constituents who as pensioners really worry about making ends meet. “New clause 1 was tabled because many of us are concerned about the point at which individuals retire and convert their pot of money into their retirement income. “Just as auto-enrolment is designed to nudge a person out of inertia about their pensions savings, so new clause 1 would give a person a great big nudge to make them shop around for a better retirement income.” “It’s the second biggest financial decision people make in their lives and it’s irreversible. It can increase retirement income by 20%, yet two thirds of savers fail to shop around.” Pensions’ Minister Steve Webb welcomed Harriett’s new clause and said the Government had created a working group to look into the issue. He said: “We asked that working group to consider what is called a default open market option arrangement—in other words, whether we could make shopping around the default, so that people would have to make an active choice to stay with their current provider. “We believe that it is critical for consumers to think about the shape of annuity that is most appropriate to their circumstances and compare rates across providers. “There are comparison websites available, which is a helpful development, but people have to know about them to look at them. They have to consider the option in order to know what questions to ask.”