MP for Sevenoaks Laura Trott has been appointed the new Minister for Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

This is her first government post, although she is also a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill Committee, and the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill Committee.

In her new role, she will be responsible for pensioner benefits including the state pension, private and occupational pensions, and oversight of arms-length bodies such as the Pensions Regulator.

Trott was first elected as the Conservative MP for Sevenoaks in December 2019.

Her appointment follows the departure of Alex Burghart, who confirmed on 28 October that he was no longer Minister for Pensions and Growth and has been moved to the Cabinet Office, as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle.

Alongside the appointment of Trott as Pensions Minister, the DWP has also named former Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, as the new Minister of State for Employment, following his return to the DWP at the end of October.

In his new role, Opperman will be responsible for work around the labour market, addressing economic inactivity and for DWP benefits, including Universal Credit.

Baroness Stedman-Scott will continue as the spokesperson for DWP business in the House of Lords, retaining her responsibility for the child maintenance service, reducing parental conflict, and maternity benefits

In addition to this, MP for Corby, Tom Pursglove, has been named Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, while the MP for Mid Sussex, Mims Davies, has been named Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression.

The pensions industry has welcomed the portfolio confirmation, emphasising however that there are a number of key areas that the new Pensions Minister will need to get to grips with in the new role.

Aegon head of pensions, Kate Smith, pointed out that "as a newcomer to the world of pensions she will need to get up to speed quickly, with many issues vying for her attention".

She continued: "Pension policy has been a hive of activity in recent years, and there’s still much unfinished business.

"The new Pensions Minister will bring fresh thinking and new ideas to an already busy ‘to do’ list.

"Top priorities for the new minister include getting pensions dashboards over the line, implementing the recommendations of the 2017 review of auto-enrolment and next steps to improve pensions adequacy, progressing with the proposed value of money framework, and working across government and regulators to better support pension savers with retirement decision making.”

Adding to this, LCP senior partner, Bob Scott, stated: "The new minister will have a lot to get to grips with. There are urgent priorities such as ensuring that new scheme funding regulations are fit for purpose in a post pandemic world and against a gloomy economic backdrop.

"Auto-enrolment reform to make sure that people are saving enough has also long been awaited, and the recent 10 year anniversary makes it a good time to review what the next steps should be.

“There is also good work that needs to be continued. Her predecessor Guy Opperman made good strides around extending CDC’s, putting ESG issues firmly on pension scheme agendas and getting lift off for dashboards.

"These are all issues that the industry still needs help to navigate and complete.”

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