Sarah Smart is to leave her role as chair of the Pensions Regulator (TPR) in July, the organisation announced today.
The Department for Work and Pensions is now on the hunt for her successor, with a view to a ensuring an “ordered transition” over the next six months.
Smart has been on the regulator’s board since 2016 and took over as chair in 2021.
“Millions of people rely on a workplace pension to support them in later life and I’m so proud of what we have achieved in my time on TPR’s board over the last nine years,” Smart said.
“The challenge of the last decade was getting people saving, the challenge of the next is to make sure that the system really works for savers.
“To make that a reality TPR is fundamentally changing to become a regulator that doesn’t just protect savers’ money, but also drives value in the system and supports innovation in the market.
“Now with the ongoing government pension reforms there is a unique opportunity to make pensions work for everyone.”
Smart added that TPR’s “strong leadership” and “hardworking and talented” staff would help steer the industry “to ensure the next generation of savers have opportunity and empowerment in retirement.”
Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, thanked Smart for her nine years of “hugely valued” service at the regulator.
On the board and later as chair, Smart helped oversee the regulator’s implementation of auto-enrolment, governance changes such as the master trust authorisation regime and the revised Defined Benefit Funding Code, and new innovations such as superfunds and collective defined contribution schemes.
