The recently appointed said that there is a “fiendishly complex legacy to deal with” on the State Pension, as she outlined her top three priorities, which she said would be vital in achieving success while in office.
She told sister publication Financial Planner magazine: “My ambition is for the UK to be a country in which everyone – regardless of background - has the opportunity to save for a comfortable retirement and is protected from rip off charges or out-dated practices. The best part of the job is being in a position to try to achieve that.
Asked what the most pressing challenges in the pensions sector over the next 12 to 18 months are, she replied: “I think there are three absolutely critical priorities. We need to ensure things continue to go smoothly with the automatic-enrolment roll-out as we bring smaller businesses on board.
“We also need to up our efforts to improve public understanding of State Pension reform, helping people to understand how the new system will work and what it means for them.
“Thirdly, having introduced unprecedented new pension freedoms for people with defined contribution pots, we must make sure that people are not faced with unacceptable barriers when they try to exercise those freedoms.”
To achieve these aims, she said that clear communication is important.
She said: “On automatic enrolment, we will be releasing a new media campaign aiming to encourage smaller employers to set schemes up. We need to speak to small employers in a language they understand and we need to give them the support they require to ensure they fulfil their automatic enrolment responsibilities.
“We are working with the Pensions Regulator to adapt the support available, and will continue to look for ways that we can help this group of employers. On the state pension, I will also be launching a new media campaign over the coming months, reaching millions of people with TV, radio, print and digital adverts, helping people understand how the State Pension works and what people can expect after April 2016. We are simplifying the State Pension but we have a fiendishly complex legacy to deal with and it is clear to me we have more to do to explain exactly what it means for individuals.”

Read the full interview in the November edition of Financial Planner magazine, which is out this week.