- DWP update says 85 percent of pension records are now connected
- Phase 1 testing completed with pension company employees and industry experts
- Phase 2 testing underway with 2,000 consumers
- Light at the end of the tunnel means public launch date could be set later this year
AJ Bell head of public policy, Rachel Vahey, says:
“The pace at which the Pension Dashboards project has moved forward has often felt glacial at best. For long periods previous governments appeared to park the project altogether, filing it in the ‘too difficult’ pile and leaving it to someone else to deal with.
“Delivering a project on this scale is not easy and it has been beset by endless delays and restarts. But it now seems to finally have some long-overdue momentum, with testing going ahead and tens of millions of records connected.
“Completing the first phase of testing is a massive step in the right direction. The pensions industry was holding its breath hoping the project would negotiate that hurdle successfully and without any major delays, which is exactly what has happened.
“With some real progress being made on the project, the DWP, Money and Pensions Service and the pensions industry are keen to keep up the momentum. Provided progress isn’t hindered by any serious bumps in the road we should get a full timeline for a public launch date later this year.
“Once all pension schemes have connected, and the pensions dashboard has been thoroughly tested to make sure it’s giving people the right information in the right way, the DWP can set a launch date for the public. That probably won’t be until mid-2027 at the earliest but there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.
“For consumers it means they’re one step closer to having access to an ‘all in one’ view of their pensions. Getting your pensions sorted is one of the most valuable personal finance tasks you’re ever likely to do, but it is still really tempting to put off doing your pensions paperwork. Dashboards will make it much easier for people and should eventually become a tool that millions of people use to help organise their finances and, in many cases, switch pension accounts to one with better service, pricing and investment choices if they aren’t happy with the pension providers they’ve got today.”
Background
What are the pensions dashboards?
The pensions dashboards will allow people to see details of all their pension plans in one place – including both state pension and private pensions. It will show which scheme or provider the pension is with, including contact details, as well as both the current value of the pension and what income it could provide at retirement age.
Initially, people will be able to access this information by accessing a dashboard offered by MoneyHelper, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). In time, it’s expected other companies - for example a pension provider or employer or bank – will also be able to offer a pensions dashboard.
When first gaining access, users may have to take a photo of their ID and themselves as part of a secure ID verification process. The dashboard will then take the user’s personal information, including name, address, date of birth and ideally National Insurance number, to check with most of the pension schemes in the UK to see if they have information for this person. The dashboard will then then show the individual what pension information it has gathered.
Who is building the pensions dashboards?
The DWP has given the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) - part of MaPS - the job of designing and implementing the central digital architecture that will make pensions dashboards work. The PDP is also responsible for developing standards on how pension schemes connect to the pensions dashboards and how they show the information to people.
What is the connection timetable?
The majority of pension schemes have to ‘connect’ to the pensions dashboards to be able to share details of their members’ pensions. (Only very small schemes with less than 100 members are currently exempt.) 85% of member records have already been connected, but all pension schemes have to connect by 31 October 2026 by the latest.
When can people view pensions dashboards?
The DWP will set the launch date of the pensions dashboards once it is sure enough pension schemes have connected to the pensions dashboards, and an individual has a very high chance of seeing all their pensions when they access the dashboard. If the ‘coverage’ of pension records isn’t high enough, the danger is people will lose confidence in the pensions dashboards if they request details but aren’t shown all their pensions.
The pensions dashboard also has to be working efficiently, is easy to engage with, and it’s simple to understand the information given.
