There have been a total of 18 ministers responsible for pensions since 1998. Here is the list in full.
The pensions minister role was created in its modern form in July 1998 with the appointment of John Denham to the role. Previously, pensions came under the remit of other ministers with broader responsibilities; prior to Denham's appointment, for example, Labour stalwart Frank Field, as minister for welfare reform, had looked after pensions.
Steve Webb and Guy Opperman are the pensions ministers who have survived the longest in post since its creation in 1998. At around five years each, the tenure of Webb and Opperman is well over twice as long as the longest-serving pensions minister under the Labour administrations between 1997 and 2010.
A changing role
In July 2016, Theresa May downgraded the pensions minister role to Under-Secretary of State, with Richard Harrington being chosen for the position.
A year later, in June 2017, Guy Opperman took over the role, which was expanded to 'pensions and financial inclusion' minister.
Alex Burghart was formally named as minister for pensions and growth on 12 October, a role taken over by Laura Trott later that month. Paul Maynard took over the role in November 2023, a position he held until the 2024 general election. In July 2024, Emma Reynolds took on the role of pensions minister as a parliamentary under-secretary spanning both HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Here is the list and history of ministers in full since the role was created in July 1998.
This article was first published in May 2012. It was most recently updated on 14 January 2025.
