For some time now, the Government has been working towards rolling out a pensions dashboard, where people can view all their pension savings in one place. This, it said, would revolutionise how consumers keep track of their pension information, put savers in control and transform how they think and plan for their retirement.
That is really important when you think about how a person can easily rack up multiple pensions throughout their working life – particularly following the introduction of auto-enrolment – and then lose track of them. In fact, figures from the Pensions Policy Institute recently showed that the value of lost pension pots has gone up by 37 percent in the last four years, rising to a staggering £26.6 billion. These are worth an average of £9,470 – a significant amount, to say the least.
The original plan from the Government was for pension schemes to begin connecting to dashboards from August this year, before being made available to the public in 2024. So where is it up to? Well, it’s apparently been delayed to an as-yet unconfirmed date.
Work and Pensions Secretary Laura Trott has described the project as a “significant undertaking” and said “additional time is required” to deliver “complex” technical solutions. This, she stated, is important, as any tool that’s created needs to comply with the Pensions Dashboards Regulation 2022 and the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules for pension providers.
“More time is needed to deliver this complex build, and for the pensions industry to help facilitate the successful connection of a wide range of different IT systems to the dashboards digital architecture,” Ms Trott explained.
What’s the reaction been?
While the Government’s ongoing commitment to developing a pensions dashboard has been praised, news of this latest delay has, unsurprisingly, been met with some degree of frustration. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) notes that pensions dashboards could potentially be “transformational”, especially as more than £26 billion is sitting in unclaimed pension pots.
However, it agrees that a reset is appropriate if complex technical challenges need to be overcome. Dr Yvonne Braun, Director of Policy, Long Term Savings and Protection at the ABI, said: “There needs to be enough time for testing and onboarding, with the industry closely involved and learning shared widely, to ensure that dashboards work for consumers and that they can fulfil their potential.
“While having to delay such an important programme is always disappointing, we remain strong advocates for the project to progress as quickly as it safely can.” Dr Braun added that pensions dashboards can “boost customer engagement and help people reconnect with their forgotten pensions”.
Former Pensions Minister Sir Steve Webb, meanwhile, has described this latest delay as “deeply frustrating. The end goal of a website where people can see all of their pensions in one place would be of huge value to pension savers,” he said.
“It will help people to find pension pots they have lost track of and will enable them to rationalise and make best use of the pots that they do have.” Sir Steve has urged ministers to ensure that any delay is kept to an “absolute minimum”, as the lack of a firm timetable means the industry is now “in limbo”.
If you have any questions about reclaiming lost pension pots or deciding what to do with schemes you’d forgotten all about, please do get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help and discuss your options.
