New chair of UK pensions lifeboat set to be named amid BHS and Tata crises
A new chairman is set to be named for the UK’s Pension Protection Fund (PPF) on Thursday.
The Department for Work and Pensions is believed to have picked one of its existing board members to replace Lady Judge, who is stepping down after six years.
Read more: Now the PPF warns possible amends to steel pensions could set a precedent
Sky News first reported that Arnold Wagner, formerly of Bunzl and Smiths Group, is understood to have been chosen.
Wagner retired from his main role as director of human resources in 2009 and joined the PPF’s board in 2011.
Lady Judge was appointed chairman of the pensions lifeboat in 2010 and she was given a second three-year term in 2013.
Read more: BHS staff may wait two years to know if their pension scheme is in the PPF
She was previously chairman of the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority between 2004 and 2010.
The appointment comes as the PPF is contending with crises at BHS and Tata Steel.
The PPF’s biography of Wagner notes: “Arnold has a strong interest in pensions, including defined benefit pension schemes.”