Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, has been appointed as the as the new Pensions Minister.
Kate Smith, head of Pensions at Aegon, said the company welcomes Maynard as the new Pensions Minister, pointing out that he is the fourth individual in just over a year to hold this position in government.
Smith said: “He will have a very busy agenda to try to progress, potentially in a very short time, as a General Election could be less than a year away.
“[He] will need to hit the ground running, given his lack of financial services experience, this may be challenging. Top of the agenda will be the need to work closely with the Chancellor on a number of policy initiatives designed to improve member outcomes, implement the auto-enrolment reforms, drive scheme consolidation and encourage pension schemes to invest in private equity to encourage economic growth. The previous Pensions Minister, Laura Trott, with her new role at the Treasury may prove to be invaluable here. Time will tell whether Maynard will have the time to get up to speed with all things pension and deliver any of the initiatives in flow given that the General Election will be a major distraction.“
David Brooks, head of Policy at Broadstone, reflected on the fact that the new pensions minister would have 18 months at most to deal with a raft of slow moving or hard to implement reform, not least Value for Members and progressing the pensions dashboard. “But there is a clear opportunity to demonstrate his skills as an effective minister by progressing much needed change to the Transfer Regulations, which are a constant source of frustration in the industry and a potential quick win that would mark him out as one of the more consequential pension ministers in recent years.”
Caitlin Southall, pensions technical manager, Curtis Banks said he was facing a baptism of fire” inheriting “a myriad of challenges from the off.
“The pensions industry is in a state of flux, with key legislative changes like the abolition of the lifetime allowance on the horizon and the uncertainty over the triple lock. The pensions industry and pension savers deserve stability and consistency of approach, so Paul needs to hit the ground running.”
