Schemes must not "down tools" and "lose sight" of their dashboard preparation duties, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has said.

In a new blog post, TPR interim director of policy, analysis and advice, Louise Davey, said there is significant work schemes can do now to ensure savers can find their pensions and receive accurate value information when the pensions dashboards programme is launched.

All pension providers and schemes with over a 100 members will have to connect to the pensions dashboards ecosystem by 31 October 2026.

Davey wrote that the staged timetable for connection, which is yet to be released, will provide clarity on when schemes are expected to plug into the dashboard system.

Waiting for this, however, would be a mistake, in Davey's view. "Preparation will take time," she stated. "There’s significant work schemes can do now, to ensure savers can find their pensions and receive accurate value information.

"Schemes mustn’t down tools and lose sight of this while they wait for their target connection dates.”  

Davey acknowledged that the work involved for schemes to prepare for their dashboards duties can seem overwhelming.

She suggested breaking elements of the project into bite-sized chunks, as this is "a tried and tested approach" to getting started.

She also said schemes should be checking out TPR’s dashboards preparation checklist, which can be used to collaborate with third parties such as administrators to keep preparations on track and agree responsibility for specific tasks.  

“The checklist helps to simplify the steps to take," says Davey. "It explains which actions schemes should already be working on, such as exploring a route to connection. And it helps to map out the real nuts and bolts of dashboards preparation — the data tasks.

“Our checklist will help schemes to visualise their dashboards goals and what’s needed to achieve them. And it will provide the age-old satisfaction that comes with ticking off a completed task.”

"Approaching a large project can be daunting at the best of times," she continues. "We know that we need to clear space in the diary and just get started, but it’s not always that easy.

"Other tasks need attention. That big project keeps falling down the list, and if its delivery date is months or even years in the future, then putting it off becomes even easier.

"But procrastination can cause problems down the track. Sometimes we assume that projects won’t take as long as they really will. This can lead to a false sense of security — we think there’s plenty of time to meet a deadline, but then it’s suddenly upon us."

Share Story: