Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions

United Kingdom Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent Torsten Bell since 14 January 2025
Department for Work and Pensions
Style	Minister
Nominator	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Appointer	The Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Website	www.gov.uk/dwp

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions is a junior position in the Department for Work and Pensions in the British government.

In the 1970s the minister was known as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment.

Responsibilities

The minister's responsibilities include: ^[1]

• Pensioner benefits, including new State Pension, Winter Fuel Payments, Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance
• Private and occupational pensions, including regulatory powers and the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST)
• Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension
• Oversight of arms-length bodies, including the Pensions Regulator, Pension Protection Fund, Financial Assistance Scheme and Pensions Ombudsman
• Financial guidance, budgeting, saving and debt, including the Money and Pensions Service and Financial Inclusion Policy Forum
• Methods of payment and Post Office Card Accounts
• EU Exit preparation relevant to pensions
• Cross-DWP spokesperson – shadowing Lords

List of ministers

Name		Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Prime Minister
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment
	John Fraser		8 March 1974	14 April 1976	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Harold Walker		8 March 1974	14 April 1976	Labour	Harold Wilson
	John Golding		14 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	John Grant		14 April 1976	4 May 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	Jim Lester		7 May 1979	5 January 1981	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Patrick Mayhew		7 May 1979	5 January 1981	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	David Waddington		5 January 1981	6 January 1983	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Peter Morrison		5 January 1981	13 June 1983	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	John Gummer		6 January 1983	18 October 1983	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Alan Clark		13 June 1983	24 January 1986	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Peter Bottomley		11 September 1984	23 January 1986	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	David Trippier		2 September 1985	13 June 1987	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Ian Lang		31 January 1986	10 September 1986	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	John Lee		10 September 1986	26 July 1989	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Patrick Nicholls		13 June 1987	24 July 1990	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde		26 July 1989	24 July 1990	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Robert Jackson		24 July 1990	14 April 1992	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher and John Major
	Eric Forth		24 July 1990	14 April 1992	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher and John Major
	Nicholas Lowther, 2nd Viscount Ullswater		24 July 1990	16 September 1993	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher and John Major
	Patrick McLoughlin		14 April 1992	27 May 1993	Conservative	John Major
	Ann Widdecombe		27 May 1993	20 July 1994	Conservative	John Major
	Oliver Eden, 8th Baron Henley		16 September 1993	20 July 1994	Conservative	John Major
	James Paice		20 July 1994	5 July 1995	Conservative	John Major
	Phillip Oppenheim		20 July 1994	5 July 1995	Conservative	John Major
Minister of State for Pensions
	Stephen Timms		23 December 1998	29 July 1999	Labour	Tony Blair
	Jeff Rooker		29 July 1999	7 June 2001	Labour	Tony Blair
	Malcolm Wicks		8 June 2001	4 April 2003	Labour	Tony Blair
	Ian McCartney		13 June 2003	6 May 2005	Labour	Tony Blair
	Stephen Timms		6 May 2005	5 May 2006	Labour	Tony Blair
	James Purnell		5 May 2006	28 June 2007	Labour	Tony Blair
	Mike O'Brien		27 June 2007	5 October 2008	Labour	Gordon Brown
	Rosie Winterton		24 January 2008	5 June 2009	Labour	Gordon Brown
Minister of State for Pensions and Ageing Society
	Angela Eagle		8 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour	Gordon Brown
Minister of State for Pensions
	Steve Webb		12 May 2010	8 May 2015	Liberal Democrats	David Cameron
	Ros Altmann, Baroness Altmann		11 May 2015	15 July 2016	Labour (to September 2015) [2]	David Cameron
					Conservative (from September 2015)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
	Richard Harrington		17 July 2016	14 June 2017	Conservative	Theresa May
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion
	Guy Opperman		14 June 2017	8 September 2022 [a]	Conservative	Theresa May Boris Johnson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Growth
	Alex Burghart		20 September 2022	27 October 2022	Conservative	Liz Truss
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
	Laura Trott		27 October 2022	13 November 2023	Conservative	Rishi Sunak
	Paul Maynard		13 November 2023	5 July 2024	Conservative
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
	Emma Reynolds		9 July 2024	14 January 2025	Labour	Keir Starmer
	Torsten Bell		14 January 2025	Incumbent	Labour

Notes

1. Office vacant between 7 July and 8 July 2022, when Opperman resigned from the government until Boris Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister. ^[3]

References

1. "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
2. "Tory minister Ros Altmann expelled from Labour party". The Guardian. 8 September 2015.
3. Blows, Laura. "Guy Opperman announces return to DWP". Pensions Age Magazine. Retrieved 9 July 2022.