The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has called for input on proposals for the staged compulsory connection of pension providers to the dashboards ecosystem.
The PDP was launched in the UK last year to develop policy and regulatory frameworks for the introduction of ‘dashboards’ – digital platforms that will allow individuals to see all of their retirement savings in one place.
This call for input – which is open until 9 July – provides a key opportunity for the industry to respond, said Chris Curry, principal of the PDP at the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).
“This is a concrete opportunity to shape the proposals at an early stage, which will feed into the formal DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] consultation later this year,” he added.
The feedback will help inform policy development ahead of the legislation that will bring this compulsion into effect, he said.
“We have heard the voices across the industry calling for more detail on how to prepare for dashboards,” he said, urging people to respond to the call for input “to have your say on the proposals and shape the next steps towards making dashboards happen”.
As the UK pensions sector starts to prepare for the introduction of pension dashboards, there is still a lack of certainty on what schemes and their administrators need to do.
The PDP proposals have been developed in collaboration with the DWP, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR). The staging principles focus on achieving the widest coverage of pensions as soon as possible, while considering industry, regulatory and PDP deliverability.
The proposals recommend that all large pension schemes should begin connecting to the PDP during 2023 with a view to making the material available to savers at some point after that, most likely in 2024 or 2025, Nigel Peaple, director of policy and advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), explained.
“Pensions dashboards have the power to transform savers’ awareness of their pensions and ultimately lead to better retirement incomes,” he said.
However, given the complexity of the task – something acknowledged by the PDP in its consultation – “and the fact that we do not yet have complete certainty about the data requirements, it is today too early to assess whether this timeline is achievable”, he said.
“Whatever the final timescale for connection agreed upon, it is imperative that nothing is done to put at risk the pension savings of scheme members.”
Interested parties can respond to the call for input online or via email.
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