Minister for Pensions (): The Government wants to
shape the pensions system to serve the interests of savers and
future pensioners, ensuring decent, secure retirement incomes for
all. As part of achieving that goal, we want to make it easier
for people to understand their pensions information so they can
better prepare for financial security in later life.
As people often move around the labour market throughout their
working lives, this can make it difficult for individuals to keep
track of their pensions savings. To help solve this problem, the
Government is committed to the delivery of pensions dashboards.
Pensions dashboards will provide a secure way for individuals to
view a summary of their pensions picture online, including
information about the State Pension. This will help people find
their lost pension pots and promote greater engagement –
empowering individuals to plan their future more confidently.
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP), which is part of the
Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), recently concluded a formal
Reset process which generated a revised delivery plan. In line
with that plan, the Programme has begun testing the connection
journey with a small number of external organisations which will
help facilitate wider industry connections. Alongside this, the
PDP has published an updated draft Code of Connection, technical
standards, and data standards to support the pensions industry to
prepare for connection. As a result of the PDP's progress, the
Infrastructure and Projects Authority has increased its
confidence in the Programme's ability to deliver against their
revised plan.
While it is too early to confirm a launch date for public use, we
are taking steps to help the public realise the benefits of using
a pensions dashboard at the earliest opportunity. I have directed
the PDP to focus its efforts on the connection and launch of the
MoneyHelper dashboard service (provided by MaPS), before turning
to the work of connecting commercial dashboard services.
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. 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.
We are committed to the existing published timetable for the
connection of pension schemes and providers to the pensions
dashboards ecosystem, which is expected to begin in April 2025,
as well as the overall connection deadline of 31 October 2026. It
is therefore essential that the pensions industry continues to
prepare for connection, having regard to the timetable set out in
DWP's guidance.
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.
