Pensions industry concerned at loss of expertise

The UK pension industry called for stability on Friday after the ousting of key policy makers in the general election, including the long-serving pensions minister, Steve Webb.

As the biggest reforms to pensions policy in a century bed in, the industry was digesting news that Mr Webb, a Liberal Democrat, and his Labour shadow, Gregg McClymont, had both lost their seats - creating policy uncertainty at Westminster.

Speculation immediately commenced over who might succeed Mr Webb, who commanded the respect of the industry and was renowned for his technical expertise.

"Steve Webb has been a good pensions minister," said the Association of British Insurers. "The challenge for his successor will be to build on the pension reforms to create a long-term savings culture which recognises the importance of the pensions industry in helping people plan for a financially secure retirement".

The National Association of Pension Funds, which represents workplace pension schemes, said its members had appreciated his (Mr Webb's) expertise and his willingness to engage with the industry to make reform both practical for the industry and beneficial for savers."

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

Some providers warned that the loss of key parliamentarians instrumental in preparing and delivering sweeping pension reforms would "slow the momentum for changes that will help solve the pension crisis".

"A Conservative majority will offer a degree of stability, so it is unlikely that we will see any watering down or reversal of the reforms introduced last year," said Nick Ayton, managing director at GenLife, a pensions and savings provider.

"However, until this week, we had a very good minister for pensions in the shape of Steve Webb. Someone who understands the industry and has worked hard to establish a long-term programme of action. Now we are left unsure as to who will be captaining the ship and whether or not they will be up for the job."

Among those tipped to take on the role include David Gauke, a treasury minister in the previous government, and Ros Altmann, a pensions expert who is to be appointed as consumer protection minister in the Lords.

"It would be unfortunate given the many pension challenges that still exist, if the new minister was someone with little or no experience of pensions, as was sadly evident before Steve Webb's tenure," said Maclolm McLean, senior consultant with Barnett Waddingham.

"One possible solution might be to expand the new role proposed for Ros Altmann to operate as the next pensions minister from the House of Lords. I await with interest to see who the prime minister selects and what changes to pensions policy may result going forward."

The Society of Pension Professionals said that whoever replaced Mr Webb "must not be a short-term journeyman".

"There is a significant amount of change now under way in the pensions world and some of the important initiatives put in place by the last government are still bedding in and are at crucial stages in their development," said the SPP.

"We also have the pension tax freedoms that will significantly affect the way pensions are viewed by savers. It is therefore important that we have another enthusiastic pensions minister who will see these initiatives through to the end."

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation