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The Department for Work and Pensions has appointed Deborah Evans to chair the Pensions Ombudsman.
Evans is currently a non-executive director and chair of the compliance committee at the Property Ombudsman, as well as being the chief executive of Lawyers in Local Government and chair of governors at Trent College.
She will take over from Anthony Arter on 1 July. Arter, a former ombudsman, has served as interim chair since January 2024, stepping in after Caroline Rookes died in October 2023.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell said: “I am pleased to announce Deborah Evans as the new chair of The Pensions Ombudsman. I look forward to working with her as she brings her leadership and expertise to this vital role, helping to uphold high standards of fairness and accountability across the pensions sector. I am confident she will make a positive impact for savers and pensioners across the country.”
For the role as TPO chair, Evans will receive £24,000 per year for a minimum time commitment of 36 days.
The ombudsman is currently undergoing an operating model review, as it faces a rapidly growing number of claims while its budget has not kept pace.
One of its more prominent upcoming decisions involves a lead case for the Boots Pension Scheme, where the outcome in a single representative case will also determine the outcome of similar cases. The case aims to resolve a dispute in which hundreds of scheme members complained to TPO about the Boots scheme, accusing the trustees of changing the scheme rules around retirement age just as a buy-in of the scheme was announced.
Evans’ appointment also comes as a 2023 Court of Appeal ruling that TPO is not a competent court when it comes to recouping pension overpayments will be overturned through legislation included in the pension schemes bill that is now in parliament, returning this power to TPO.
