Regulatory action will not be taken against pension schemes that are unable to meet their pensions dashboards connection date because they are using a third party that has not completed its connection journey, the Money and Pensions Service (Maps) has confirmed.

The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) recently confirmed that it is making progress connecting volunteer participants (VPs), with two organisations, Pension Fusion and Heywood, having already completed the process.

Speaking at a Town Hall event held by Maps, PDP programme director, Kim Webb, emphasised that that the PDP is “very confident” in its technical solution for pensions dashboards, highlighting this latest achievement as proof of its effectiveness.

"Getting those two VPs through our integration testing is such a significant point in time for us,” she continued.

“It also tells us that VPs have been able to implement the relevant standards successfully, so, I think for all of us, both the programme team and also for the industry, this is such a really big boost in confidence.”

She also confirmed that there are a further seven VPs who are at various stages of their connection journey, with the remaining VPs invited to start their connection journey by the middle of this month [December].

Webb said that PDP is looking to work in an “agile” way to continue to iterate the connection journey and make sure it is as smooth as possible for VPs.

"We also spent quite a bit of time looking at onboarding systems - looking at whether they work for VPs, as well as what more we can learn,” she said.

However, she acknowledged that there is a chance that not all of these VPs will have passed through the process ahead of the first pension scheme connection deadline in April 2025.

“The PDP expects the connection of providers and schemes in guidance to commence from the end of April as planned, and in line with the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) staging timetable,” she continued.

“However, due to the agile way we're working and the different levels of readiness [in industry], it is not possible at the moment to determine the exact point from which all VPs will be connected.

“I acknowledge that this is causing some concern across the industry, particularly for those providers and schemes who are looking to connect through VPs.”

Webb emphasised that the DWP staging timetable is designed with flexibility in mind”, confirming that PDP will work with providers and schemes to ensure that the connection is being managed in a sensible and controlled way.

However, she confirmed that, if providers and schemes have appointed an integrated service provider (ISP) that is not able to connect by April, they do not need to reconsider their route to connection.

“There will be no regulatory intervention if the provider for the scheme is unable to connect by their deadline solely because their third-party connector has not yet completed their connection journey, and they do not need to find an alternative connection route,” she confirmed.

She also confirmed that PDP will continue to work closely with VPs to look at connection schedules and “reschedule if needed”.

“Our intention is still that we will have as many VPs fully completed by the end of April as possible,” she added.

Representatives for both The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority also confirmed that the regulator will take a "pragmatic" approach, confirming that the regulators will look at the impact of any breaches on members before deciding to take action.

However, the regulators stressed the need for pension schemes and providers to still give due regard to the guidance and staging timelines, with TPR pensions dashboards lead, Lucy Stone, warning that if the industry ignored the staging timeline, it could be “catastrophic”.

“We do need staggered and controlled connections, and we do need broadly for industry to follow the timeline, we understand there might be more of a concern for very early schemes, and so we are in conversations reassuring them that we are going to be pragmatic.”

Despite concerns over the initial deadlines, Webb emphasised that PDP has a high degree of confidence that that all providers will be able to connect “before” the mandatory day on 31 October 2026.

Maps CEO, Oliver Morley, also reassured the industry that work on commercial dashboards is continuing, emphasising that the government remains committed to the principle of commercial dashboards.

Speaking to Pensions Age, Morley stated: "PDP are working closely with potential dashboard providers, the Department for Work and Pensions and the regulators on a pathway for development and implementation of dashboards.

"We are looking into setting up engagement sessions with potential dashboard providers to look at the next steps for progressing this work.

"Although the government is unable to confirm a date for when commercial dashboards will launch, I hope, in the Town Hall event we hosted earlier this month, we showed that we have a team of people, myself included, who fundamentally believe in the promise of pension dashboards, and are absolutely committed to making that promise happen."

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