New pension chief will 'hit the ground running'
The newly appointed secretary of state for work and pensions James Purnell is in a position to hit the ground running, according to Scottish Widows.
A host of reforms to the way UK consumers are encouraged to save for retirement are in the parliamentary pipeline and Scottish Widows has suggested that Mr Purnell's pensions experience will stand him in good stead for his new position.
However, the financial services firm, whose products facilitate the saving for retirement of many thousands of Britons, has expressed concerns about how often the government's pensions chief is changed.
"It is very disappointing that we now have a fifth secretary of state for work and pensions in the last three years [the others were Johnson, Blunkett, Hutton and Hain]," a statement from Scottish Widows read.
"Such frequent changes are highly disruptive at a time of great change in pensions legislation."
A study by Baring Asset Management recently indicated that almost a quarter of all British adults are currently not saving for retirement at all.
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