Pension Dashboard rules confirmed by FCA

Summary

The FCA has now published the rules that firms must follow when designing and operating a commercial Pensions Dashboard. While this statement is helpful, it still leaves the pensions industry with no definitive timescale for when commercial dashboards will become a reality.

The development of dashboards has already been a bumpy ride, with numerous stops and starts, and changes to who is responsible for getting it over the starting line. That’s a shame, because dashboards have the potential to really empower people, giving them a clear overview of all the pension savings they’ve built up so far, where those savings are, how much they’re worth, and what level of retirement income they could generate.

Rather than relying on a single government outlet, dashboards need to be offered by a wide variety of organisations, so that as many people as possible can reconnect with their lost pensions. Setting a date in stone for commercial dashboards would offer a clear path forward, and allow providers to start planning in earnest.

The pensions environment is continually evolving, and the FCA will need to regularly review the new rules so they’re suitable for a future in which targeted support is expected to play a much more important role. The FCA has adopted a cautious approach, but this could come at the cost of simplicity and practical help. Parts of the consumer journey are still laborious, and not designed from the customer’s perspective.

What are Pensions Dashboards?

Pensions Dashboards will allow people to see details of all their pension plans in one place – including both their state pension and private pensions. It will show which scheme or provider the pension is with, including contact details, the current value of the pension, and what income it could provide at retirement age.

Initially, people will be able to access this information using the dashboard run by the Government’s Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Once they have entered a few details – like their name, address, and date of birth – into the dashboard, it will check with most of the pension schemes in the UK to see if they have information for this person, and then display the information it has gathered.

Who is building Pensions Dashboards?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has given the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) the job of designing and implementing the central digital architecture that will make Pensions Dashboards work. The PDP is also responsible for developing standards on how pension schemes connect to dashboards, and how they show the information to people.

What is the connection timetable?

The majority of pension schemes have to ‘connect’ to Pensions Dashboards to be able to share details of their members’ pensions. Only very small schemes with less than 100 members are currently exempt. All pension schemes must connect by 31 October 2026 at the latest. However, the DWP has published a connection timetable as guidance for schemes, and this gives some earlier dates for connection. This is to stop a large number of pension schemes all trying to connect at the same time, which could disrupt the overall project.

The first guidance connection date is 30 April 2025. This is for large firms that offer personal pensions (including SIPPs) and very large master trusts. The timetable then sets out several later dates for gradually smaller and smaller pension schemes.

Pension schemes have to make decisions about when they will connect by looking at these guidance connection dates. If they choose a different, later connection date, then the regulators – either The Pensions Regulator (TPR) or the FCA – may investigate and want to know the reason why.

When can people view their Pensions Dashboards?

The DWP will set the launch date of Pensions Dashboards once it is sure enough pension schemes have connected, and an individual has a very high chance of seeing all their pensions when they access the dashboard. If the ‘coverage’ of pension records isn’t high enough, there’s a danger that people will lose confidence in Pensions Dashboards that fail to show all their pensions.

What is the FCA’s role?

Offering a commercial dashboard is a permitted activity, meaning firms need to be regulated by the FCA as a Pensions Dashboard Service (PDS). The FCA is currently designing the regulatory framework, setting out the rules those PDS firms have to comply with. This includes the warnings and messages the customer will receive whenever they go onto or exit the dashboard. It also includes the rules on what they can do with the data detailing their pension pots, such as whether or not they can send it back to themselves or other parties like financial advisers and the PDS firm.