The pensions dashboards connection guidance should be published "as soon as possible" to avoid uncertainty and ensure pension schemes and providers have a date to aim for, Aegon has said.

The government previously confirmed that, rather than setting out the entire staging timeline in legislation, it will instead set this out in guidance, which it will collaborate on with industry "this year".

Following on from this, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shared the draft amendments to the pension dashboard regulations, which confirmed the removal of the legislative timetable in lieu of a final connection deadline of 31 October 2026.

Commenting on the updated regulations, Aegon head of pensions, Kate Smith, noted that the new connection guidance will indicate, but not mandate, when schemes, by size and type, are scheduled to connect.

“There were fears that the removal of legislative connection dates and the introduction of a single deadline date would lead to many schemes leaving it until the last minute to connect to the dashboard ecosystem causing a logjam," she continued.

"The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is attempting to outmanoeuvre this risk by updating its draft guidance making it clear that schemes will need to demonstrate how they ‘had regard’ to the connection guidance with the threat of fines for non-compliance."

Indeed, the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) recently heard that TPR will be ready to enforce the proposed staging guidance for pensions dashboards, with those schemes that choose to hold off on preparations to face scrutiny over this.

However, Smith suggested that while the largest pension schemes are expected to follow the guidance, "that may not be the case for smaller schemes, which tend to be much less-well resourced".

"To move forward, it’s important that the connection guidance is published as soon as possible so that schemes have something to aim for," she stated.

"Dealing with unknown timelines leads to uncertainty and planning blight."

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