STORY
The Department for Work and Pensions has appointed Kirstin Baker as the interim Chair of The Pensions Regulator, taking up the role from 1 August 2025. She will serve for up to nine months while the government completes the recruitment process for a permanent chair. Baker has been a senior independent board member at the regulator since 2016 and previously chaired its Audit and Risk Committee. Her appointment follows the departure of Sarah Smart, who has stepped down after serving as Chair since 2021.
The role comes with a remuneration of £73,840 a year, based on a commitment of at least 104 working days. The Department said Baker’s appointment would ensure stability and continuity in the organisation’s leadership during a period of ongoing change in the pensions sector. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell welcomed the decision, saying he looked forward to working with Baker and valued the experience she brings from both her existing role at the regulator and her previous work in the civil service.
Baker said she was delighted to be taking on the interim role and thanked her predecessor for her work. She noted her commitment to continuing the regulator’s priorities and helping to guide it through its next phase. Before her work in pensions, Baker had a distinguished career in the civil service, most recently as Finance and Commercial Director at HM Treasury. She was involved in managing the government’s financial response to the 2008 banking crisis, for which she was appointed a CBE.