Guy Opperman has been removed as minister for pensions and financial inclusion in the ongoing government shake-up under new prime minister Liz Truss, having been the longest-serving pensions minister to date. A successor has not been named yet. 

 

In a letter in which he thanked officials at the Department for Work and Pensions and relevant government organisations, Opperman said: “I was relieved of my duties on the day Her Majesty the Queen passed away.” 

The MP for Hexham did not specify the reasons for leaving his role. He had backed Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak during the Conservative leadership contest.  Opperman said in the letter: “The leadership contest is over, and the new team, and new PM, is entitled to choose their personnel and take matters forward”.

 

Opperman was a government whip and became pensions minister in 2017, serving under four prime ministers. During his five years as pensions minister he brought in legislation that gives the Pensions Regulator more powers, introduced collective defined contribution and created the legal framework for pensions dashboards. 

 

He has been an advocate for greater accountability on climate and social considerations in pensions investment and included this in the same legislation by requiring schemes to report on climate risk.
 

   
Opperman also pushed for greater consolidation in the name of value for money, an agenda keenly pursued by the Treasury as it seeks to tap private capital for the UK’s economic growth, with illiquid investments requiring larger investors. 

 

During Opperman’s tenure, planned increases in auto-enrolment contributions took effect, reaching 8%. Earlier this year, Opperman expressed his support for bringing this to 12%, admitting in a recent LangCat podcast that millions are undersaving.
 

 
The government is also yet to introduce the reforms from the 2017 Automatic Enrolment review, which it had agreed to. This would see the minimum saving age reduced to 18 and the lower qualifying earnings band threshold scrapped in the mid-2020s. 

 

Opperman has been one of the more popular pensions ministers in the industry, taking the time to understand a complex subject matter while seeking to introduce reforms to improve people’s experience and encourage saving. As well as dealing with institutional pensions matters, he sought to increase saver engagement through an engagement season – starting this year in the form of the ‘Pension Attention’ campaign by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and Association of British Insurers – and his support for conducting ‘midlife MOTs’.  

 

He said in his exit letter that from the backbenches he would champion 1% default workplace savings, where a portion of salary goes directly into a savings account to help people build financial resilience. 

 

However, Opperman was not universally liked; the former minister regularly dismissed concerns about women’s pension provision. He refused to meet campaigners who sought compensation for 1950s-born women and were given inadequate notice of increases in their pension age.
   

 
In parliament, he said that auto-enrolment was the remedy for the gender pensions gap, while industry has long pointed to the gender pay gap and inadequate provision for women taking on unpaid caring. Expensive childcare and lack of support for women going through the menopause have been highlighted as further issues that need addressing.
   

   

   

  

The DWP has declined to comment on Opperman’s departure or who will replace him. 

Industry said the former minister brought a period of stability to pensions and seemed grateful for his enthusiasm. 

 

Tim Middleton, director of policy and external affairs at the Pensions Management Institute, said: “As minister, [Guy Opperman] has overseen a number of important regulatory reforms, but his greatest legacy will surely be the pensions dashboard. Whilst we have not always agreed with all of his ideas, we have never doubted his energy, determination and enthusiasm for the role and his clear desire to improve pension provision within the United Career. We would like to offer him our very best wishes for the future.” 

 

Kate Smith, head of pensions at provider Aegon, pointed to ongoing changes. “Guy Opperman...  brought a period of stability which meant he was able to get his teeth into a number of initiatives, some more successful than others. Many of these are still in flow, such as the pensions dashboards, scheme consolidation and value for money, and initiatives to improve pension engagement,” she said. 

 

“His biggest success was probably the Pension Schemes Act 2021, which introduced new duties for those running pension schemes as well as pushing forward pensions dashboards. The impact of this has the potential to transform pensions for the benefit of members,” Smith added. 

 

She said though he had many ideas, “fewer and more focused initiatives may have meant increased impact” given the time it takes to deliver change. 

 

Smith said the new pensions minister, once in place, will need to get up to speed quickly.  

 

“Pensions can be a challenging topic, with many different angles. One of the benefits of Opperman’s long tenue is that he was able to build up a wealth of expertise and clearly demonstrated his passion for improving pensions,” she said. 

  

The new minister will have a lot on their plate with much unfinished business, she remarked. This includes superfunds and a state pension review, for example, but Smith said dashboards are the key issue: “Whoever gets the role, getting pensions dashboards over the line must be the top priority, nothing should be allowed to disrupt this.”