Baroness Ros Altmann resigns as Pensions Minister

16 July 2016

Baroness Ros Altmann has stepped down as Pensions Minister and has been replaced by MP Penny Mordaunt, the government has confirmed.

In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, Altmann stated that: “Unfortunately over the past year, short-term political considerations, exacerbated by the EU referendum, have inhibited good policymaking. As the country heads into uncharted waters, I would urge you and your new team to enable my successor to address some of the major policy reforms that are needed to improve pensions for the future.”

Baroness Altmann also said that it is “vital” to continue to roll out auto-enrolment and that the government should look to develop a “one nation” pension. This would include a “long overdue reform” of pensions tax relief, which would have flat-rate tax relief more generous than the current basic-rate tax relief, and withdrawals taxed in later life as a behavioural incentive not to spend retirement savings too soon.

She called for more help for women forced to work longer by the government’s decision to raise the pension age saying “I am not convinced the government adequately addressed the hardship facing women who have had their state pension age increased at a relatively short notice.”

Penny Mordaunt has been the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North since winning the seat at the 2010 general election. The CIPP looks forward to working with Ms Mordaunt over the coming months and years to address the many challenges faced by the pensions industry.