Guy Opperman MP, one of the longest serving Pensions Ministers in recent times, has returned to the Department for Work and Pensions although the pensions portfolio he held has yet to be allocated.

The last person to hold the Pensions Minister portfolio was Alex Burghart MP who has now moved to be Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office.

Industry experts have welcomed the return of Mr Opperman, seen as a popular and experienced figure and one of the longest serving pensions ministers in recent times. He served as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion at the DWP between 2017 and 2022. 

Key ministerial appointments by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the DWP are:  

Mel Stride – Secretary of State (a former chair of the Treasury Committee)

Guy Opperman – Minister of State

Tom Pursglove – Minister of State

Laura Trott – Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Mims Davies – Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Baroness Stedman-Scott – Minister for the Lords

A spokesman for the DWP told Financial Planning Today that portfolios (responsibilities) for individual ministers would be announced shortly.

• This story will be updated in due course with details of ministerial portfolios.