Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb and The Pensions Regulator’s executive director of auto-enrolment Charles Counsell have been awarded a knighthood and OBE for their work in the industry.

The now director of policy at Royal London, Webb, has been knighted for his political and public service.

He served as Minister for five years during the coalition government and is still regarded as a well-respected figure within the industry.

"It is humbling and unexpected to receive an honour of this sort. Without the partnership of the many people I have worked with over the years on a range of pensions issues and campaigns it would not have been possible to deliver the reforms that I have been involved with. Each one of them deserves to share in this honour," Webb commented.

TPR’s Charles Counsell received an OBE for his services to workplace pension reform.

Working alongside the Department of Work and Pensions, Counsell has led a major campaign to assist and educate employers of all sizes to fulfil their pension duties.

To date, compliance among small and micro employers has remained above 95 per cent and over 340,000 employers have successfully enrolled seven million into a workplace pension.

The high compliance rates have demonstrated the effectiveness of TPR’s communications with employers including ‘nudge’ letters and emails as well as additional campaigns to raise awareness.

“I am delighted to receive this award which recognises the commitment and expertise of my colleagues to ensure that automatic enrolment successfully meets the challenge of creating a new and robust culture of saving in the UK,” Counsell said.

“Automatic enrolment has reversed a worrying trend of under-saving for retirement amongst workers, and I am proud that we have played a role in educating employers that putting staff into a pension is now the social norm.

“In 2017 will see the largest number of employers so far – more than a million - meet their pension duties and we will act where necessary to ensure compliance remains high.

TPR chair Mark Boyle noted: “I congratulate Charles Counsell on this well-deserved honour which acknowledges the great efforts he and his team have put into delivering the automatic enrolment programme, on time and with almost universal compliance, bringing clear benefits to millions of workers.”

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