New Retirement Commissioner named

Diane Maxwell will fill the Retirement Commissioner position temporarily. Photo / Supplied

The Government has made a permanent appointment to the role of Retirement Commissioner - five months after the role was left vacant.

Diane Maxwell, who was appointed as temporary commissioner in March, has been officially confirmed in the role by Commerce Minister Craig Foss.

Maxwell has been on secondment from the Financial Markets Authority where she was head of stakeholder management.

Prior to that position she was head of brand and corporate affairs at the Bank of New Zealand.

Foss said Maxwell had demonstrated a strong focus in financial literacy leadership during her short time at the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income.

"Ms Maxwell has the skills and experience to work with those most at risk of credit exposure and unnecessarily high levels of debt.

"Ms Maxwell will build on the commission's work to ensure that financial literacy information is accessible to the public generally and to targeted groups," Foss said.

Previous commissioner Diana Crossan officially finished the role in January after serving 10 years as the Retirement Commissioner.

Maxwell has been appointed for a three year term from July 1.