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Mike O'Brien, secretary of state for pensions reform, has been replaced in the role by Rosie Winterton as Prime Minister Gordon Brown continues his comprehensive Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr O'Brien has been moved to the department of energy and climate change as part of the shake-up.

Mr O'Brien, who has been minister of state for pensions reform since June 2007, had been overseeing the UK pensions reform as part of The Pensions Bill, which went to the report stage on Tuesday.

The Cabinet reshuffle will also see Paul Myners resign as chairman of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority after he was appointed minister for London's financial district.

Ms Winterton, MP for Doncaster Central, previously served as minister of state for transport and minister of state for the department of health.

Prior to this, she was the parlimentary secretary for the Lord Chancellor's department.

Minister of State for Pensions

Source: DWP

Rachel Vahey, head of pensions development for Aegon UK, said she was surprised by the timing as industry negotiations and talks were in a crucial stage.

She said: "The Pensions Bill has been tortuous to say the least and making the switch at this stage is a peculiar move by the government. Mr O'Brien had been very much involved and had got to grips with what we were saying.

"I am not questioning Ms Winterton's intentions by any means, however she will be coming in and having to almost start all over again at a crucial point.

"While this may not seem important at the moment, this is a crucial government initiative and I am a tad surprised by the reshuffle in this area. Personal accounts are not an easy issue although I am impressed by the delivery authority who are doing a good job. This will make things interesting over the next few weeks."

Meanwhile, Tom McPhail, head of pensions research for Bristol-based Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "There are significant unresolved issues around levelling down and means testing, as well as longer term doubts about the infrastructure needed to support personal accounts.

"The new minister may find she has been given the political equivalent of a hospital pass."

Steve Folkard, head of pensions and savings policy for Axa, also expressed disappointment at the lack of continuity.

He said: "The lack of continuity in the pension area hardly sends a compelling message to those concerned about the future for both new and existing pension provision."

Since 2001, there have been seven different secretaries of state for work and pensions with previous incumbants in recent time including Alistair Darling in 2001 to 2002.

James Purnell is currently at the helm having held the position since January of this year, easily beating David Blunkett who only managed a brief six months in 2005.