Altmann will replace Steve Webb, who lost his parliamentary seat last week to Conservative Luke Hall.
Industry experts had tipped Altmann to take on the role, with Jon Gwinnett, pensions technical manager at Nucleus asking, "Ros Altmann has already been promised a place in Government – would it be too much of a leap to see her take a role formally in the pension ministry?"
He added:
“Steve Webb, while not without fault, has been the most successful pension minister for years. His loss will be keenly felt. So too will that of Gregg McClymont - together they had brought a degree of stability to pension policy outlook in the face of the Treasury’s interventions.
"Whoever is chosen, never has a steady hand on the tiller been more important, as we continue to navigate the early surge of the pension freedom sea."
Last month, David Cameron announced that Ros Altmann would be nominated as a Conservative peer and appointed as a Minister with responsibility for financial consumer protection and financial education in a Conservative government.
One of her first roles will be to lead a review of financial fairness for consumers, including consideration of charge caps for pension products to protect savers from excessive fees; improved rights for older consumers especially in the mortgage market; promoting competition and innovation for all savers; and developing the Pension Wise service to offer financial education and guidance to working people at every stage of their lives.
Ros Altmann said:
"For my entire career I've been an independent consumer champion. I have always tried to make pensions and savings work better for customers, help ordinary savers understand finance and stand up for pensions justice. Until now, my work has focused on policy, rather than politics, but I am excited to have the opportunity to be more directly involved. For too many years, consumer rights have played second fiddle to the interests of large financial firms, but the new pension freedoms show that the Conservatives have put the interests of British savers first and that is a real game-changer.
"I passionately believe the new pension reforms, trusting people with their own money, are an essential step to helping everyone make the most of their hard-earned savings. David Cameron and George Osborne have proved to me that they want to help the many, not just the few at the top, by giving the same freedoms to everyone as were already enjoyed by the wealthiest.
"In doing so, they took on the large companies who had too often taken advantage of their customers and have paved the way for a new environment for long-term savings. The Conservatives have created the opportunity for working families to save more if and when they can, knowing they will be allowed to use the money as best suits their circumstances. That is right, but of course it will also require a change of mindset from providers and potentially further action from Government to protect consumers. It will be my job to try to ensure customers get a better deal and I am delighted to be offered the chance to do so. Charge caps, impartial financial guidance, help with financial planning, financial education at all ages, and more competition for savers' money will all help and it will be great to have the opportunity to play a direct role in looking after the public."
The Savings and Investments Policy project, a group of over 50 financial services companies, trade bodies and consumer groups, welcomed the appointment, but has urged the government to consider extending the brief to that of a dedicated Savings Minister.
Tony Stenning, Chairman of TSIP and Head of UK Retail at BlackRock says:
“We welcome the Conservative’s plan to appoint Ros Altmann as Pensions Minister, however, we believe that this role could be expanded to oversee all forms of consumer saving. More can and should be done to promote the benefits of long-term saving whilst also ensuring that the recent momentum around savings and investing is maintained.
“We believe the creation of a Savings Minister is critical to achieving this. The individual would be accountable for promoting and championing all forms of consumer saving within government – an essential role if we are to overcome the current culture of consumption fuelled predominantly by debt. This Minister would transcend departments and be a positive driver for change to create a framework where it is as easy to save as it is to get into debt.
“Saving, benefits everyone, ensuring growth, stability and prosperity for the future of the UK and its people. A failure to narrow the savings gap could adversely affect the UK’s GDP, so it is of critical economic as well as social importance.”
