The UK's longest serving pensions minister, MP Guy Opperman, has left the post after a record 1,913 days in office.

Opperman today (20 September) said he was "relieved of his duties" on 8 September but had refrained from making the news public until after the period of mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

His record-long period as pensions minister at the Department for Work and Pensions saw the lifting of auto-enrolment (AE) workplace pensions to 8% savings per annum and a 44 percentage point increase in the number of women and young people in workplace arrangements.

"We passed the ground-breaking Pensions Schemes Act 2021 through parliament," Opperman added. "The act has secured out pensions on an ongoing basis and has unquestionably made them safer, better and green. Safer by stopping scams and preventing crime. Better by bringing forward the pension dashboard - a digital revolution for pensions."

He added there remains much for his successor to do, including the expansion of AE and proper measurement of value for money across the pensions space.

"I will be fully supportive of the new teams," Opperman concluded.

Pensions Management Institute director of policy and external affairs Tim Middleton said: "As minister, he has overseen a number of important regulatory reforms, but his greatest legacy will surely be the pensions dashboard.

"Whilst we have not always agreed with all of his ideas, we have never doubted his energy, determination and enthusiasm for the role and his clear desire to improve pension provision."