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The Baroness Altmann | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Minister of State for Pensions | |
| In office 11 May 2015 – 15 July 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Steve Webb |
| Succeeded by | Richard Harrington |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 19 May 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 April 1956 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Non-affiliated (2024–) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (2015–2024), Labour (until 2015) |
| Spouse | Paul Richer |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | London |
| Alma mater | University College London Harvard University London School of Economics |
Rosalind Miriam Altmann, Baroness Altmann, CBE (born 8 April 1956) is a British life peer, leading UK pensions expert, and political campaigner. She was appointed to the House of Lords following the 2015 general election as a Conservative, but describes her work both before and after the election as being politically independent, championing ordinary people and social justice.[1][2][3]
She became well known in 2002 for leading[4] the "pensionstheft" campaign on behalf of 150,000 workers and their families whose company pensions disappeared when their employers' final salary scheme failed. Having been assured their pensions were safe and protected by law, these workers from companies such as Allied Steel and Wire, Kalamazoo Computer Group, Dexion, British United Shoe Machinery and UEF suddenly faced losing their whole life savings and her work contributed to establishing the Pension Protection Fund and the Financial Assistance Scheme. She has also supported the campaign for people whose pensions were placed in peril by Equitable Life.
In 2011, she campaigned against the sudden, short notice increases in women's state pension age, achieving success in reducing the planned rises, and was instrumental in highlighting the injustices of the annuities market, which culminated in the Government's announcement of the end to quasi-mandatory annuitisation of pensions. Although best known for her work on pensions, she is also involved in economic analysis and most recently in highlighting the inadequacies of the social care system. She has twice been the recipient of the Pensions Personality of the Year Award. She is a governor of the London School of Economics.[5] and also an advisor to the International Longevity Centre – UK.[6] She was Director General of the Saga Group from 2010 to 2013. In 2011 her work as the "leading commentator on pensions and other matters affecting the lives of the nation's over 50s" was recognised when she was presented with the Public Affairs Achiever of the Year award.[7][8]
- ^ Ros Altmann (22 June 2015). "My farewell blog". Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ Baroness Altmann's biography on parliament.uk Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Chris Newlands (12 February 2016). "Beware Amazon pensions, warns UK minister". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "The gender pay gap is only half the story: women lose out on pensions, too". New Statesman. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Pensions Personality of the Year Award". April 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- ^ "International Longevity Centre UK". Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ "Top award for Ros Altmann". Saga UK. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ "Celebrating women leaders in society:Ros Altmann, Director General, Saga". womenin publiclifeawards.co.uk. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.