Industry organisations have welcomed the government’s pension dashboards timeline guidance, despite concerns that the deadline could create friction, and place increased pressure on already strained resources across the industry.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published the final pensions dashboards connection guidance yesterday (25 March), confirming that larger pension schemes will be expected to have completed connection by the end of April 2025.

Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) director of policy and advocacy, Nigel Peaple, highlighted the guidance as a “significant step forward”, providing the pensions industry with "useful clarity" on when they are expected to meet their connection obligations.

“This is a complex and difficult task but the sector is keen to do it as way of helping their scheme members better understand retirement saving,” he said.

This was echoed by Hymans Robertson client manager, third party administration, Karl Lidgley, Client Manager, who said that the guidance will allow the industry to move forward with some certainty into a delivery phase.

"There are still a few pieces in the jigsaw puzzle," he admitted, clarifying however, that schemes now know when they are required to connect, and PDP is also expected to issue the final data standards shortly, which will allow finalisation of builds into the required systems.

And the confirmed timeline is also expected to help accelerate dashboards efforts in the pensions industry, as Bravura proposition lead, Jonathan Hawkins, argued that “nothing gets the industry moving quite like a deadline”.

Hawkins stated: “The number of staging deadlines has been compressed from 31 months of onboarding to 18. This significant reduction will undoubtedly create friction, and pile increased pressure on already strained resources across the industry.

“However, in spite of this, I believe that having confirmed dates to work towards is exactly what the industry needs and will help towards firmly putting the PDP back to the top of the corporate agenda following the long reset period.

“With just over a year to go to the first staging date, nothing gets the industry moving quite like a deadline, and we can expect to see a lot of movement and ISP commercial agreements being finalised as providers and schemes look to fast-track plans and lock in guarantees with suppliers that they will be able to get them dashboard-ready in time.

“Our dashboards connect customers are itching to get going on their connections, and we await more guidance and standards over the coming weeks and months."

However, Trafalgar House senior client relationship manager, Katie Stone, warned that the deadlines "may still feel like a way off, and with pressing projects and milestones on the horizon before then, there is a real danger that many schemes may choose to delay sorting their dashboard data and very much find themselves in The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) crosshairs”.

“We fully recognise the pressure schemes are under, but the fact of the matter is that schemes are responsible for ensuring the successful onboarding of members to a dashboard platform in the not-too-distant future and for some this will come sooner than others," she continued.

"It is also predicted that when dashboards start to come on to the market there will be very large volumes of find requests. Healthy scheme data will be critical in managing these and greatly reduce partial matching. If schemes get this right, it will significantly reduce additional costs.”

Stone also pointed out that the regulator has been "clear" that there will be consequences for schemes who have not adequately prepared and who cannot demonstrate best efforts.

"There are a lot of useful tools out there to help trustees meet the data matching standards required, the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has produced connection guidance and TPR themselves have also provided support," she added. "Now it’s up to schemes themselves to take action.”

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