Employers and their staff can agree to suspend private pension contributions for a year under legislation approved by MPs yesterday.Premier Paula Cox told the House of Assembly the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2012 would help “under-pressure” employers and free up cash for struggling workers.“It’s a temporary measure that will provide short-term relief,” said the Finance Minister. “This is voluntary and employers and employees can still contribute to their pensions if they wish.“If the suspension of contributions is taken up it can provide both relief and stimulus to families. It’s intended to ease the financial burden on employers and employees.”She explained that all employers in Bermuda must provide occupational pension plans for their Bermudian staff, under legislation passed in 1998.“Bermuda is one of the few jurisdictions in which the provision of occupational pension plans is mandatory,” Ms Cox added. “Normally, all Bermudians and their spouses who are employed have a private sector pension plan.”She said the temporary change in the law would allow contributions to be suspended for a year, if both employer and employee agreed. Those who want to continue with pension payments are free to do so.Ms Cox said: “It’s voluntary. It’s subject to agreement by the employer and member. This opportunity to suspend pension contributions is also extended to self-employed persons under the same conditions.”Employers who wish to take advantage of the law must give written notice to their pension plan administrator and must be up-to-date with contributions.The Premier told the House there were 25,000 occupational pension plan members as of February, according to statistics provided by the Pension Commission.The amount of assets held within the 2,928 employer plans was US $1.5 billion. There were also 427 self-employed plans, with assets of $267 million.Ms Cox said there were about 664 employers who were delinquent in their payments.Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said the Opposition supported the legislation and he “understood reluctantly” why it was necessary.“The issue that we are having here with pensions, of course, is that it’s okay to live long but not okay to outlive your money,” he said. “This is the issue before us today: the issue being short-term problems being addressed at the expense of long-term solutions.“Having said that, I understand that if you don’t take care of short-term problems, there may not be a long-term.”The One Bermuda Alliance MP said this was the third or fourth time recently MPs had been asked to approve similar legislation, including allowing public sector workers to dip into their pensions for certain expenses.“We don’t object to it because we understand there is hardship out there and the Government is trying to address the hardship,” said Mr Richards.United Bermuda Party member Charlie Swan said: “It might free up a little bit of money for people to spend. I imagine that’s part of the aim.”Families Minister Glenn Blakeney said: “I think this is indicative of a government that responds to the challenges of the day in a very commonsense way. This kind of stimulus gives flexibility.”OBA’s Dr Grant Gibbons questioned why employers who are delinquent in payments would not be given the opportunity to take advantage of the law, saying: “Those are the one’s that are in the most danger of going under.”Premier Cox responded that the suspension is a reward for companies who have remained up to date with payments, and could serve as motivation for employers to catch up.