Torsten Bell was appointed as parliamentary secretary for the UK’s Treasury and parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The appointment comes as Emma Reynolds, the UK’s previous pensions minister, was named economic secretary to the Treasury, replacing Tulip Siddiq who resigned this week following pressure over an anti-corruption investigation.
Bell, who was elected a Labour member of Parliament on 4 July 2024 for Swansea West, was the former chief executive officer of Resolution Foundation, an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards for those on low to middle incomes.
Over the past five years, the UK has seen as many individuals serve as pensions minister, with Guy Opperman being the longest-serving minister (from June 2017 to September 2022).
Alex Burghart followed with just one month in post (September to October 2022). Appointed during Liz Truss’s premiership, Burghart’s brief tenure was part of the transitional period following Opperman’s departure.
Laura Trott then took over from October 2022 to September 2024, under then-prime minister Rishi Sunak, focusing on pension reforms aimed at increasing investment in UK infrastructure and venture capital.
Reynolds (September 2024 to January 2025), appointed by the Labour government, announced a “landmark” pensions review to boost retirement savings and promote economic growth.
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) said Reynolds has been “highly engaged” with the industry “helping to progress some critical reforms with dedication and insight”.
Zoe Alexander, director of policy and advocacy at the PLSA said Bell is already “well known and respected” within the pensions industry.
She said: “We are optimistic that he will bring the leadership that is needed to make progress on both phases of the Pensions Review and look forward to working with him to continue to deliver a system that is adequate, affordable and fair, in the interests of UK savers.”
At the end of last year the UK government announced it was putting the second phase of the Pensions Review, which focused on investment, on hold.
Steve Webb, partner at LCP, added that Bell will arrive at the DWP with “a deeper knowledge of pensions than many of his predecessors”.
“In particular, his time at the Resolution Foundation included publishing a number of reports on pensions and savings issues which means he may well already have strong views on many topics,” Webb noted.
“This should also mean that the time it takes him to master his new brief will be considerably shortened. His many years as a Whitehall insider also means that he knows how to get things done within government and hopefully, that should mean that the status of pensions policy within government is enhanced as a result,” Webb continued.
Gareth Tancred, CEO of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), agreed that Bell will bring valuable experience and understanding to the role from his time as CEO of the Resolution Foundation.
Tancred added that a delay to the second part of the Pensions Review provides an opportunity to fundamentally consider not just adequacy but also how automatic enrolment can be evolved and modernised to both support everyday savers and reflect how people are making ends meet in retirement.
“The proposed Lifetime Savings Initiative provides a great foundation on which to achieve this. There are other critically important issues to consider in the first part of the Pensions Review which, along with the discussion on auto-enrollment and adequacy, the PMI can contribute towards,” Tancred said.
Sophia Singleton, president of the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP), added that this is a “particularly important time for pensions policy”, with various consultations in train, including Dashboards, Value for Money, and a “much-needed pensions adequacy review” that “have stalled” under the previous minister.
Singleton added that SPP looks forward to working with the new minister to “drive forward these important initiatives and implement the most effective, evidence-based pensions policy possible”.
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