Torsten Bell MP has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary in HM Treasury and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Work and Pensions on 14th January 2025 replacing Emma Reynolds, who was promoted following the resignation of Tulip Siddiq.
He is the Labour MP for Swansea West, and elected as an MP on 4th July 2024.
He was appointed to the Resolution Foundation in 2015 after having served as Ed Miliband‘s Director of policy, and as a Treasury civil servant who became special adviser to Alistair Darling during the 2007–2008 financial crisis
Previously he was the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, an economic thinktank, from 2015 to 2024.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Pensions)
So what areas does the Minister for Pensions have responsibility?
- private pensions
- State Pensions
- pensioner benefits
- Social Fund
- Net Zero
- Shadow Lords (including CMS and Disadvantaged Groups)
- Arm’s-Length Bodies (ALBs)
- HM Treasury (HMT) responsibilities
What are the Arms Length Bodies (ALBs)?
The Minister for Pension also has government responsibility for the following which are referred to as the ALBs:
- Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)
- National Employment Savings Trust (NEST)
- The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO)
- Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
- The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
So when will pension changes for April 2025 be announced
The minister of pension reviews and announces the annual changes to Pension AE thresholds and the minimum contribution rates for employers and any residual contributions required from employees.
The announcement on changes have been tardy for a number of years which raises some difficulty for employers in the UK to plan their employment costs, and even more of a difficulty for software developers who prepare payroll software in readiness for the start of new obligations.
Originally these were announced around the same time as the Autumn Statement or Autumn Budget, however, for a number of years since there has been a no change freeze to the trigger point and threshold, announcements have been held back and been confirmed late. Hopefully there will be a confirmation of no change for April 2025 shortly!
A private members bill which is now in force provides powers to the minister to consider Pension Auto-Enrolment to start as low as pound one.
We will have to wait and see, and even with a pension minister change, let’s hope the confirmation announcement is made soon, and let’s hope that in future the announcement again is more aligned with the Autumn budget.
PAYadvide.UK 17/1/2025