Pensions Dashboards — coming soon to a screen near you

New regulations were put to Parliament to outline how pension schemes will connect to the dashboard ecosystem and what providers must do to become a qualified pensions dashboard service.

Pensions Dashboards will transform how savers access their pensions facts and figures, allowing people to see what they have in their various pensions — including their State Pension — in a single place online, at any time they choose.

DWP Minister for Pensions and Growth, Alex Burghart, said providing a convenient place for savers to access their pension information will help people become better informed and more engaged savers, and support them to plan more effectively for retirement.

Chris Curry, principal of the Pensions Dashboards Programme, said Pensions Dashboards will make a real difference to how people view their pensions savings, and how pension providers and schemes engage with their members and customers.

In just six months, the first window opens for pension providers and schemes to begin mandatory connection to the dashboards ecosystem.

The DWP also announced that the Dashboard Availability Point (DAP) will be announced six months in advance, giving time for industry to make final preparations for the public launch of the service.

The building and initial testing of the digital dashboards architecture are underway, with pension schemes being urged to ensure they are “data ready” for the launch of Pensions Dashboards.

This year marked 10 years since the introduction of Automatic Enrolment, and with a record number of British people saving for retirement, and more people managing their finances online, the need for Pensions Dashboards is stronger than ever.