Fans of the hit TV show Game of Thrones will remember the popular character Jon Snow, an outsider in his family, who rose through a series of battles to assume the title of 'King in the North'. Well the UK now has its fifth prime minister in four years as Andy Burnham, also described by many as the 'King of the North' takes over the role.
This continues a remarkable period of political change in the UK; the last prime minister to both be elected and removed by a general election is Edward Heath, more than 50 years ago.
So, what can we expect from the new prime minister? Quite possibly a change of tone. The new incumbent is clearly more comfortable in front of the cameras than his predecessor, with a quick, dry wit. With his love of Everton Football Club, Oasis and the Stone Roses he is also arguably more relatable for many people.
In his inaugural speech, he talked about putting life’s essentials back into public control and a 10-year plan for Britain. Perhaps a nod to his time as Manchester mayor where he brought the city’s public transport back into public control. He talked about changing the education system to bring more young people into work, to bring the welfare bill down. He also talked about a new political model and a new economic model.
What is undeniable is that Burnham has a huge task ahead of him.
Those of us in the pension world will be intrigued to see how things develop. In April 2027 for example, defined contribution pensions are due to fall within the remit of inheritance tax for the first time. This is going to be a big deal for many people either approaching retirement or in retirement, who hold sizeable unused pension pots.
The inheritance tax changes were of course announced by Rachel Reeves who has already been replaced as chancellor by John Healey in a surprise appointment. What do we know about Healey? Well, he is a long-standing MP, having been elected at the time of Tony Blair’s initial triumph in 1997. He served as economic secretary to the Treasury from 2002 to 2005 and then as financial secretary to the Treasury from 2005 to 2007 under Gordon Brown. Most recently he was British secretary of state for defence and resigned in June 2026, arguing the Defence Investment Plan agreed by Rachel Reeves was insufficient to meet the UK's security commitments and defence objectives.
It seems Healey is viewed as an experienced pair of hands, one who it is hoped can steer the treasury towards calm waters after what has been a somewhat turbulent period involving some controversial legislation.
Returning to Burnham, it is believed he may favour further increases to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and possibly a wealth tax. Any such moves might impact the pension industry. The former could in fact make pensions more attractive, given that gains from pension investments are free from CGT, but debate rages over whether the latter might lead to an increase in the departure of high-net-worth individuals from these shores, which would not be such good news for the UK pension industry.
It is interesting to note that Healey was involved at the Treasury during the era that Gordon Brown introduced the 2004 Finance Act, a piece of legislation that still stands as a colossus in the pension world over 20 years later. Will he make any last-minute changes to the UK Finance Bill 2025-26, which is introducing the forthcoming sweeping changes to IHT? We know that commitments have been made to the old age pension, but currently little has been said about the private pension world which so many UK workers rely on.
What is certain is it will be a fine balancing act for the new front bench team. Trying to manage the public finances, already affected by the increasing costs of borrowing, while trying to retain confidence in UK plc, is a tough ask.
We wish Burnham and his new chancellor well and will watch with interest how he and his team view the pension world in the coming months. The UK currently has a problem of inadequate private pension provision, so we hope that pension policy is sensible and measured, not discouraging what is an important area of personal saving.
Steve Berridge is pensions technical services manager at IFGL Pensions
