The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has announced the death of its chair, Caroline Rookes.

Caroline joined TPO as interim chair in September 2019, before being appointed permanent chair in December 2021 for a further five years.

During her time at TPO, Caroline provided strategic governance through a global pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis, overseeing a period of significant transformation including the launch of the pilot Pensions Dishonesty Unit.

Formerly a civil servant, she previously held the role of Money Advice Service (MAS) chief executive officer from 2013 to 2017.

Prior to joining the MAS, Caroline was the Director of Private Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions where she led on a significant reform of private pensions, including the introduction of automatic enrolment and the Nest pension scheme.

In addition to this, she was also a trustee of the Civil Service Sports Council Superannuation scheme, the Nest pension scheme and The Pension Superfund.

She also previously held roles at HMRC and, during the 2017/18 pension restructuring exercise, led an independent review of communications and support provided to British Steel Pension Scheme members.

She was awarded the CBE in recognition of her successful civil service career in 2010, while in 2014 she was awarded an Alumni Award by Lancaster University for outstanding achievement.

Pensions ombudsman, Dominic Harris, commented: “Caroline was a shining example of ‘public service’, with a desire to make the world a better place, particularly the world of pensions.

“As chair, she found the perfect balance between being supportive and challenging – and, in particular, she made sure that our decisions were always taken with the best interests of the public and our other users at the forefront of our mind. She will be greatly missed.”

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