We’re entering an important phase for pensions dashboards. At the end of the month, we will reach the final deadline for pension providers and schemes in scope of legislation to connect to the pensions dashboards ecosystem. That is a significant milestone and a real achievement for industry.

Around 90 per cent of records in scope are already connected through the Pensions Dashboards Programme, part of the Money and Pensions Service (Maps). We expect this to rise to up to 96 per cent by the connection deadline. The subsequent connection of schemes with approved legislative deferrals will take coverage of records in scope to 100 per cent, with regulators continuing to oversee any connections that remain outstanding.

But connection is only part of the story. At the recent Pensions UK conference in Liverpool, I spoke about how the next challenge is making sure people have a positive experience when they start using the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard and can access the information they need with confidence. For industry, readiness comes down to four key questions.

Handling demand and service readiness

The first question is: who is going to contact you, and why? The people contacting you could include those who have found a lost or previously unknown pension, those looking to access their pension, and those wanting to update their personal details. Customer research shows us that the majority of customers say they had or planned to take action after using a dashboard.

Schemes and providers should assess the likely level and types of queries you could receive, and make sure the right plans, processes and resources are in place. Our user testing will help inform that picture, but we’re also asking industry to carry out its own assessments of what its resourcing needs might be.

Launch will be carefully managed, and industry will receive six months’ notice of the launch date. But it is important that preparations begin now.

The second question: is your service ready? Administrators need the right capacity, funding, processes, training and support in place to help people once pensions dashboards become available. Providers and schemes should also review whether their forecasts for member demand are up to date.

We know from consumer testing that where users do follow up on a Pension That Needs Action, some report that their provider or scheme was not equipped to deal with their request. Providers and schemes will need to understand the likely demand, ensure their administrators are sufficiently resourced, handle queries effectively and deliver a positive experience for users.

Data quality

The third question: is your data good enough to give members clarity? The success of pensions dashboards depends on good data. The dashboard will only be as useful as the information supplied to it.

We’re continuing to improve how data matching works. But finding a pension is only one part of the picture. The information returned also needs to be accurate and up to date. For a median pension pot with an average asset allocation, a valuation from 12 months ago could be more than £4,000 out. This could leave members uncertain about how much their pension is currently worth and whether the information gives them a clear picture of their retirement savings.

The ambition should be to go beyond minimum compliance and give people the best possible experience, supported by pension information that is accurate, complete and up to date. That will be one of the biggest factors in building trust and confidence in pensions dashboards.

Ensuring an effective service

Finally the fourth question: can you support the service? People will expect the pensions dashboards service to work reliably and support to be available when they need it. Providers and schemes therefore need to make sure they have the right monitoring, support processes and incident arrangements in place. The early signs across the wider ecosystem are encouraging. From June to August, Directly Connected Organisations achieved an average availability of 99.72 per cent.

We’re also continuing to test the service at greater scale. This controlled approach helps us understand how the ecosystem performs as demand increases, identify and address issues, and build confidence ahead of launch. Each organisation also needs to be confident that its own technology, processes and support arrangements are ready too.
The goal is simple: to make sure people can access and use pensions dashboards with confidence.

Looking to launch

We are working towards the launch of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard in the 2027/28 financial year. The next step is to move from technical preparation to industry readiness. As launch moves closer, that is where our collective focus needs to be.
We have an opportunity to deliver one of the biggest changes to pensions engagement in a generation, and what is likely to be one of the most significant fintech launches on the horizon.

Working together, we can help millions of people better understand their pensions, reconnect with retirement savings they may have lost track of, and make more informed decisions about their future.

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