Yahoo Finance Where is the UK’s pension dashboard and why has it been delayed?
Being able to see all your pensions in one place can save you a lot of hassle. It allows you to keep track of all those pensions you accumulated in previous roles that otherwise you may lose track of. Checking in on them over time can also help you see how much they’ve grown, and this can really transform how you think about your retirement planning.
You might find that when you tot up the total value of what you have then you have more than you thought and this could really galvanise you to engage, maybe contribute a bit more and really build your retirement security.
On the other hand, if you realise your current pension situation isn’t what you thought then at least you have the awareness to put a plan in place to help you get to where you need to be.
This is the thinking around the much talked about pension dashboard.
First floated by the UK government more than a decade ago, the dashboard is expected to act as a way of people accessing their pensions, including state pension data, all in one place.
Read more: Tackling the myths holding back your pension planning
Successful implementation is expected to boost engagement and decision making and back in 2015 the FCA announced it was in discussions with government to work out the best way of delivering this important innovation with implementation expected within a few years. However, almost a decade later we have yet to see a working dashboard as deadlines have slipped on several occasions.
So why the delay?
Quite simply, the pension dashboard is an enormous undertaking, and it is taking time to get right.
Pulling in data from state pension as well as various pension providers and employers is a massive job and processes need to be developed to make sure this is done in the best way. Added to this, providers and employers need to make sure the data they are supplying is in the best state possible and this takes time.
Dashboard infrastructure also needs to be as secure as possible given the sheer amount of people’s data that it will be dealing with. Data standards, technology and governance must be robust to protect users from potential fraud or scams.
So, while it may feel like there’s been little progress on the dashboard, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes within government and the wider industry.
Read more: Why you aren’t getting a full state pension and what you can do
The most recent deadlines are for all occupational schemes to be connected to the pensions dashboard by 31 October 2026. However, it’s worth saying that this won’t necessarily be the date that the public will be able to use it.
A pensions dashboard may still be a few years away, but it is on its way and when it lands it has the potential to make retirement planning a lot easier for people.
In the meantime, if you want to get a clearer idea of what you have it’s well worth checking your pension paperwork to check you haven’t lost track of any old workplace pensions.
If you have then a call to the government’s Pension Tracing Service can help you track any down.
You may also wish to consolidate all your pensions into one place to make them easier to keep track of. However, make sure you aren’t incurring expensive exit fees while doing so and that you aren’t missing out on any hidden benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates by consolidating.
Watch: When should I start paying into a pension?
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