New Pensions Minister Paul Maynard urged to ‘hit the ground running’

Paul Maynard is the new Pensions Minister, replacing Laura Trott, who spent a year in the role before being promoted to Chief Secretary to the Treasury earlier this week.

The MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys previously held positions at the Department of Transport, the Ministry of Justice and the Whips Office between 2016 and 2020.

He also served a six-month term on the Work and Pensions Committee nine years ago.

Maynard, who was first elected in 2010, won a majority of about 8,600 in the 2019 election.

Pensions industry commentators, who have expressed disappointment that there was no pensions bill in the King’s recent speech, however suggest that Maynard will have much to do before an election scheduled for January 2025. delay.

This is Money readers, who continue to send in complaints about long delays in processing state pension top-ups, will expect him to address this issue.

Meanwhile, the Treasury is driving a major initiative to get pension schemes to invest their members’ savings to promote UK growth.

“The new Pensions Minister will have to get down to business,” says Kate Smith, director of Pensions at Aegon. Given his lack of experience in financial services, this may prove challenging.’

Smith says a busy agenda includes implementing automatic enrollment reforms, pushing for pension plan consolidation and encouraging plans to invest in private capital to foster economic growth.

‘The former Pensions Minister, Laura Trott, with her new role at the Treasury may prove invaluable in this case.

“Time will tell if Maynard will have time to catch up on all things pensions and introduce any of the ongoing initiatives, as the general election will be a major distraction.”

Becky O’Connor, director of public affairs at PensionBee, says: ‘The pensions baton has passed from Laura Trott to Paul Maynard on several key initiatives that demand immediate attention.

“Uncertainty remains regarding the triple lock on state pensions, the implementation of the Mansion House reforms, the extension of automatic enrolment, the delivery of pension dashboards and the regulations surrounding pension transfers.”

Nigel Peaple, director of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, says: “We look forward to discussing with him our Five Steps to Better Pensions, in particular the need to set clear targets for adequate, fair and affordable pensions, while maintaining the value of pensions. state pensions and increase automatic enrollment contributions to 12 percent over the next decade.

“Given the impending Autumn Statement, we will also set out our views on the support the Government should provide to pension funds to attract investment into UK growth.”