Pensions and the General Election Results

Whilst the Labour Government have gone through a succession of Pensions Ministers, a constant for many years for actuaries and pensions consultants has been the Shadow Pensions Minister Nigel Waterston. I have heard Mr Waterston speak a couple of times this year at the Association of Consulting Actuaries conference and at an election briefing organised by the Pensions Policy Institute.  He certainly knew his stuff and clearly had lots of pensions industry contacts and extensive knowledge. He lost his seat in the election though despite the swing to the Conservatives.  He was subject to criticism by fellow Conservatives for not appearing to enjoy mixing with the ordinary voter.  Must be difficult to be a deep expert in a specialist field whilst retaining broader electoral appeal.  I dare say he should pick up a non executive job or consultancy position or two in the industry if he wants to. Meanwhile Liberal Democrat pensions spokesman Steve Webb was returned safely to Parliament.  Talks of a coalition raise the novel possibility of having a Pensions Minister with experience and understanding of the subject.  The Labour Government had this for a very short time in 1997/1998 with Frank Field but he had radical ideas and did not last long. Brian Spence is a founder of actuaries Spence & Partners Limited and a director of independent trustee Dalriada Trustees Limited.  You can follow him at @briandspence or @PensionsEndgame on Twitter or link to him on LinkedIn. Follow @SpencePartners and @DalriadaTrustee on Twitter.