Legal & General (L&G) is the first pension provider in the UK to complete connection to the country’s pension dashboard ecosystem.
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) said the first connection was finalised today, forming “a crucial step towards making dashboards a reality”.
Some 3,000 providers and schemes are in scope of the dashboards legislation.
The connection by L&G is in line with the staged timetable set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and comes after it, along with firms Heywood and Pension Fusion completed a final “system check” last month. This was to ensure everything works smoothly in a real-world setting, according to the PDP.
More providers and schemes are registered and are currently in the pipeline for connection in April 2025, in line with guidance issued by DWP, PDP said.
It said some would not meet the end-April deadline, but that the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator “have provided reassurance they will take a pragmatic approach”.
“There will be no regulatory intervention at the current time for pension providers and schemes who are unable to meet their ‘connect by’ dates in guidance solely due to their dependence on a volunteer participant who has yet to connect,” PDP added.
Oliver Morley, chief executive officer of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), which runs PDP, said: “The connection of the first pension provider is a testament to the hard work and dedication across industry, government and the regulators. It’s important that providers and schemes keep going with their preparations ahead of connection in line with guidance.”
Morley said MaPS would begin user testing with its MoneyHelper pensions dashboard in the summer.
“This will bring us closer to the public being able to start using dashboards to better plan for their retirement,” he added.
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