The new government will proceed with the project to provide an online hub for citizens to access pension info, although the programme will narrow its focus in the short term
The new government has said that it remains committed to delivering the near-£300m Pensions Dashboards Programme. But, following a wholesale reset, a revised implementation plan has been put forward for a project that remains “a challenging and complex undertaking”.
Led by the Department for Work and Pensions, the programme is intended to provide citizens with a single online service for accessing information on both the state pensions and any employer or private schemes in which they are enrolled. The programme was announced in 2016 and delivery was initially intended to conclude in 2019.
Earlier this year, the DWP set out plans for a new staged approach to connecting different types of pension providers to the programme’s tech infrastructure, with incremental deadlines from April next year to the ultimate cut-off of 31 October 2026.
An update given this week by pensions minister Emma Reynolds said that the government remains “committed to the delivery of pensions dashboards” and will also stick to the current timetable for connecting schemes in tranches defined by their type and size.
“It is therefore essential that the pensions industry continues to prepare for connection,” she added, in a statement to parliament.
But, following the completion of its latest reset, the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) will now concentrate first on lauching the government’s own dashboard, hosted via its MoneyHelper financial advice service. Once this is up and running, the project will then focus on “turning to the work of connecting commercial dashboard services”.
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This narrowing of aims in the short term is intended “to help the public realise the benefits of using a pensions dashboard at the earliest opportunity” – although it is still “too early to confirm a launch date for public use”, according to the minister.
“The government supports the principle of enabling multiple commercial pensions dashboard services, which will provide savers with greater choice to access their pensions information from organisations they are familiar with, promoting greater engagement with pensions,” she said. “However, in the interests of ensuring consumers have the best experience on dashboards, it is prudent to allow a period while only the MoneyHelper dashboard is operational. Prioritising the launch of the government-backed dashboard in this way will provide an opportunity to obtain better insights into customer behaviour and ensure greater confidence in operational delivery, security, and consumer protection before facilitating the connection of commercial dashboards.”
Reynolds added: “Facilitating the launch of pensions dashboards is a challenging and complex undertaking, but the government is firmly committed to their successful delivery and to unlocking the potential benefits they will offer to future pensioners.”
‘Vote of confidence’
Responding to the ministerial update Chris Curry, the principal of the programme, said that “this is not just a vote of confidence in the programme, but a reminder of the profound impact pensions dashboards will have on helping people plan their retirement”.
The Money and Pensions Service, the DWP arm’s-length body overseeing PDP, is currently “working with a small number of volunteer participants on connecting to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, to be ready for the start of wider industry staging” from April next year.
“We are taking regular feedback and using the insights gained to shape the connection process for the remaining volunteer participants, and for wider industry when the time comes,” Curry said. “As our collective hard work continues, this show of support from the government is a testament to the progress we have made together. We will continue to build momentum, working collaboratively to ensure pensions dashboards meet the highest standards of security, usability and functionality.”
In recent years, the projected cost of the dashboard scheme has risen by about a quarter: from £235m to £289m. The estimated net benefits have, meanwhile, declined by a similar amount, to a revised total of 21%.
These recalculations have come as the date for public launch has slipped back by seven years – and counting. A report from the National Audit Office published in May cited a lack of the necessary digital skills as the primary contributor to these delays.
As well as the upfront cost to the public purse, over a 10-year period beginning in April 2022, the pensions industry will need to spend a collective total of £688m supporting the rollout of the dashboards, the NAO report indicated.
