The pensions industry is awaiting confirmation of the new pensions minister as Laura Trott leaves the post and takes on the role of chief secretary to the Treasury following today’s UK cabinet reshuffle.

Trott was appointed as a parliamentary under-secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 27 October 2022. She was later appointed as the pensions minister in November 2022.

During her time in the post she oversaw a number of key milestones, including authorisation of the UK’s first collective defined contribution scheme, the delay of the pensions dashboard timeline back in March, the extension to automatic enrolment, and a raft of defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit reforms.

Nigel Peaple, director of policy and advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said: “Laura Trott made a very substantial impact as pensions minister despite only being in the role for a little over a year.”

Peaple said that Trott’s support for the recent Private Members bill paving the way for automatic enrolment to apply from the first pound of earnings and to lower the starting age from 22 to 18, once implemented, will improve the retirements of millions of savers.

He added that Trott’s proposals to require more support from pension schemes for DC members at retirement will also have a lasting impact, provided it is followed through.

Peaple also said that Trott has done a “great deal of thinking with her DWP team” on the future direction of the pensions landscape which, depending on the views of whoever succeeds her, may also have a lasting legacy.

Phil Brown, director of policy at People’s Partnership, said: “While we congratulate Laura Trott on her important new role, we are sorry to see her move from being minister for pensions – a position she made her own, thanks to her energy and obvious passion for the brief.”

Brown said that Trott’s engaging approach to the role has led to significant policy change.

He said: “It’s vital that her successor continues this work by pushing ahead with the implementation of these proposed changes.”

Trott’s replacement as pensions minister has not yet been confirmed.

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Pamela is IPE's UK correspondent. Before joining IPE in May 2023, she spent five years writing about the insurance industry. During her career so far she won awards for Most Promising Newcomer in 2020 and Best Investigative Article in 2022 from the British Insurance Brokers Association, and was also highly commended at the WTW Media Awards for Insurance Features Journalist of The Year.View full Profile

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