Life company Zurich has called on the next government to create a "savings minister" who would sit between the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Treasury.
In a letter to the major parties, Zurich said a cross-departmental savings minister would ensure a “more coherent” approach to pension policy and "help rebuild consumer confidence and trust in long-term savings".
Currently, pensions policy is split between two departments, with the DWP responsible for the state pension and trust-based workplace schemes, and Treasury responsible for personal and contract-based workplace pensions.
This split has caused friction, with Treasury introducing a number of measures opposed by pensions ministers, who are part of DWP.
An example of this was the Lifetime Isa, which was launched by then-chancellor George Osborne in 2015, but vehemently opposed by then-pensions minister Ros Altmann.
Baroness Altmann's predecessor Sir Steve Webb has also accused Treasury of taking over pensions policy.
He has said DWP views pensions as a benefit, while Treasury views them as a cost.
Tulsi Naidu, Zurich UK chief executive, said a cross-departmental savings minister would "secure political representation for savers at the very top of government, coordinate savings policy across all departments and champion the needs of different consumer groups".
"It would demonstrate the government is committed to supporting savers and give people the certainty they need to put money away for their futures.
"We know that many Britons are not saving enough for retirement. Addressing this problem requires a more coherent approach to government policy-making and an end to piecemeal reform," he said.
In the letter, Zurich also laid out a number of other measures to strengthen the pension system, including broadening auto-enrolment to include people of all ages and incomes.
It also called for a flat rate of pension tax relief, measures to get self-employed people saving into a pension, and measures to address long-term care funding.
The general election will be held on 8 June. The major parties are yet to publish their election manifestos.
However, Labour has already stated it plans to retain the triple lock on the state pension, and introduce measures to help women born in the 1950s who were caught by changes to the state pension age.
On Wednesday (26 April), during the final Prime Minister's Questions before the election, Conservative prime minister Theresa May refused to reveal her party's policy on the triple lock.
Her evasive answer fueled speculation she intends to scrap the policy, which guarantees the state pension to increase annually by the highest of inflation, earnings growth and 2.5 per cent.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
