Pension minister Richard Harrington has been moved to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as part of Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle
No announcement has yet been made on who will replace the MP for Watford at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Mr Harrington had only been in charge of the pension brief since July 2016.
News of his departure will add to concerns in the long term savings industry that more change lies ahead for the sector, despite pleas from all quarters for a period of stability.
Uncertainty abounds in the key policy area.
The state pension was a tough fought over battleground in the general election this month.
In the run up to the vote, the Conservative Party - which retained power with a much reduced majority - announced plans to scrap the triple lock protection that the state pension rises in line with the greater of earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent, in favour of a double lock.
Labour pledged to maintain the triple lock.
In addition, sweeping changes introduced in April 2015 overhauled how people can access their retirement savings, and the impact of what that means for people’s retirement is still being managed by individuals and the industry.
Pension providers are also trying to work together to build dashboards that will allow people to see all of their retirement pots in one place – but are calling for move government help with the initiative.
Also in the pipeline is a large increase in the amount of earnings workers who are auto-enroled into a pension have to contribute to their retirement savings.
Chris Noon, partner at pension consultants Hymans Robertson, called for whoever takes over the mantle from Mr Harrington to address a serious of current problems in the pension sector.
“The current pension tax relief ‘mess’ is simply not sustainable and we’d like to see a fundamental review of long-term saving incentives that genuinely encourages all individuals to save for retirement and long-term care,2 he said.
"The implementation of a sliding scale of annual allowance that tapers from £40,000 at £150,000 of earnings to £10,000 for those who earn more than £210,000 has boosted government finances. However, the taper is a huge disincentive for pension saving for high earners, and their employers, who are being paralysed by the complexity of the system. This needs simplification."
Highlighting the triple lock and state pension changes, Noon added: “Hopefully the new incumbents at the DWP will also address the hopes of pensioners by not implementing the manifesto pledge and instead leaving the Triple Lock in place for the foreseeable future.
"The government’s own figures show that the state pension changes introduced in April 2016 have reduced the long-term costs of the State Pension by £8bn a year including the cost of the triple lock. Moving to a “double lock” will be the equivalent of a £250 a year reduction in state pension and will have the most significant impact on low and middle-earners who rely on it most."
