Emma Reynolds, the elected Labour MP for Wycombe, has been appointed parliamentary secretary for both the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Treasury.
The new joint role is part of the new government's recognition that pensions are the responsibilities of both departments.
Reynolds was previously the MP for Wolverhampton North East between 2010 and 2019, where she was shadow minister for foreign affairs and later housing, and as shadow communities and local government secretary.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, said: “We welcome Emma Reynolds as the new pensions minister. Reynolds will have a full in tray, not only to look at the many policy initiatives inherited from the previous government and decide which to continue, change or cancel, but more importantly to start work on Labour’s pension review. We look forward to working with Reynolds on all these initiatives.”
David Brooks, head of policy at Broadstone, added: “The appointment of Emma Reynolds as pensions minister suggests a new joined-up approach between the DWP and HM Treasury. Given the focus Labour has put on growth and productive finance, this is unsurprising and we can expect to see further rhetoric following this direction of travel. We still await to see who will be in charge of the wide-ranging pensions review and what will fall under its scope as the next major milestone for the pensions sector under the new administration.”
Clive Pugh, partner at UK law firm Burges Salmon, said: “The Labour party manifesto has promised a review of the pensions landscape with the dual focuses of assessing how to improve pension outcomes and how to increase investments in UK markets. We can expect to see both market consolidation and productive finance remain high on the agenda, as they have been under the Conservative party’s Mansion House reforms.”
