The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will be ready to enforce the proposed staging guidance for pensions dashboards, the Work and Pensions Committee has been told, with those schemes that choose to hold off on preparations to face scrutiny over the reasoning for this.

Industry experts had previously branded the new pensions dashboards timeline as "disappointing", with particular concerns that the shift from a legislative to a guidance-based approach could result in a capacity crunch if providers postpone their dashboards preparations.

However, Pensions Minister, Laura Trott, told the Work and Pensions Committee that “TPR will enforce that guidance”, arguing that the new approach “provides a reasonable way forward, which gives us flexibility, ensuring that we have a mechanism to ensure compliance and allowing us the time to work through the staging deadlines.”

She stated: "It was really important that we had clarity and the team worked very intensively to set up a new timescale, and we have confidence in the October 2026 date.

"What we wanted to do though is give ourselves more time to work with industry and for the reset programmes to take place, in order to set out the new staging deadlines, which give the industry more detail in terms of how we build to October 2026.

"I think we're doing that very effectively. I think that putting it in guidance rather than in legislation does give us some more flexibility than was there previously.

"It's still important though to note that schemes have to have regard to this guidance and that TPR will enforce that".

Providing further detail on this, Trott confirmed that "once we have the revised guidance set out, TPR will write to individual schemes to be clear to them about what their date is and to be clear on the steps they have to take in order to have regard to that guidance".

"If they then do not do that, then TPR will be able to enforce that," she said.

Adding to this, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Director Private Pensions and Arm’s Length Bodies, Tom Josephs, confirmed that the TPR will also be able to use its standard penalties, including financial penalties, where schemes don’t meet the connection deadline, and where they cannot demonstrate regard to the staging guidance in the interim.

However, he suggested that a more important consideration is the "really strong collaboration with industry" that the new approach is built on, emphasising that "industry is unanimously behind this project".

"Everyone really sees the benefits of it for pension savers," he continued, "and many people in the industry have come out and signalled very clearly that they will be very happy to follow this, this new approach."

This was echoed by Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) principal, Chris Curry, who revealed that while the organisations PDP has been speaking to are concerned others might not comply, they have all said that they plan to meet the guidance-based timeline.

"The guidance obviously does not have the same standing as regulation, but there are a number of ways we can help ensure that the guidance is followed and we get those schemes connected ahead of that deadline," he continued.

"The first is the collaborative approach in creating the guidance. And there are some real advantages for industry as well as for consumers to stick to that timeline, as it will help not just with our testing, but also the testing for each of the individual providers."

While Curry noted that it will be a different environment for TPR and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as it won’t be enforcement, he again noted that the draft regulations do state that providers have to have regard to the guidance.

"So my question for trustees and those in charge of schemes, if they aren’t staging in line with the guidance, is how are they going to demonstrate that they’ve taken regard of the guidance," he said.

Trott also disagreed with the suggestion that the lack of legislative staging timelines shows a lack of confidence, stating: ”I absolutely have confidence in that reset team and what it's done and the need dates that we are putting together with them today”.

Despite this, Trott did not rule out a move back to a statutory footing to give the initiative some “welly”, if progress is not being seen as expected, particularly given the risk that providers could wait until the 2026 deadline.

“We do think the connecting guidance will have ‘welly’ as you put it, and I think it is something whereby we've made sure that TPR has the ability to enforce that and that's really important," she stated.

"Of course, I don't rule anything out into if things were not happening the way that we think they should be, but I see no reason why that that would happen.”

Curry also recently sat down with PensionsAge in his first interview since the revised timeline was shared, providing key updates on the progress of the programme and responding to industry concerns around user testing - read more here.

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