“One simple yet powerful act incoming Chloe Smith could do in her new role as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is simply stay in the post for more than one calendar year.
“Since Ian Duncan Smith concluded his post in the role back in 2016 all but one of his predecessors have measured their tenure in months rather than years. The only one to have stayed longer than a year is the outgoing Thérèse Coffey who will have been in the role around three years.
“Coffey has been a steady ship but has hardly set an innovative course in relation to pensions in particular. She has become health secretary and hopefully some of the serious problems associated with NHS pensions which she would have been aware of, she will inadvertently be wrestling with to deal with retention issues in the NHS as part of her role at the DHSC.
“Pensions by their very nature are long-term and complicated and Smith will need time in the role to ensure that any changes in policy are carefully planned and crucially don’t create unintended consequences down the road. The government as a whole but particularly the DWP needs stability as otherwise the public simply will not have any faith in any enacted policy being seen through to the end.
“Smith will understand how complex the DWP is having served as minister for disabled people, health and work from 16 September 2021. However, she has a mammoth task on her hands as we enter into one of the most difficult winters of many people’s lives. It is during these hard times that people come to rely more and more on help from the state, which is often coordinated by the DWP. She may ultimately see this new role as a poisoned chalice as a result if mistakes are made.
“In the pension space there are a number of projects and policies to be completed such as the upcoming pensions dashboard, which will allow users to see all their pension policies in one place.
“There still needs to be a lot of change within pensions but this will require cross-departmental collaboration between Smith and the new Chancellor Kwarteng in the Treasury. Progress in relation to pensions has been hampered by the political backdrop such as Brexit, Tory infighting and the pandemic. With the cost-of-living crisis rearing its ugly head we still have to wait for meaningful change for some time yet.
“An example of this is Automatic Enrolment, where progress has been hindered in part by the Treasury, which often kicked the can down the road or stifled evolution due to cost.”
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