The industry has welcomed the “belated development” of the pensions dashboard, despite the Association of British Insurers delivering the prototype to the government on time.

As one of the industry partners involved in the creation of the prototype, ITM chairman Duncan Howarth noted that in 2017, it is “simply baffling” that people are unable to view their pensions in once place.

“In many ways, the pensions dashboard is actually a very belated development. Even once the technology infrastructure is designed, connecting the sheer volume of data out there is a crucial challenge that has held this development up until now. As a technology partner for the dashboard prototype, ITM has been working to integrate data and create data matching standards that will be key for pension schemes of all shapes and sizes to make their information available, economically,” he said.

“The dashboard prototype clearly proves that a fully functioning service is achievable but it’s just a start. A reluctance to engage may be coming from some quarters, caused in part by legacy issues, but this system will only succeed if the industry works together and agrees an approach to data sharing. The direction of travel from the Treasury looks pretty clear to us.

“It would be far better for providers to voluntarily participate instead of forcing the Treasury’s hand which may, in the end, find it necessary to mandate involvement. We would argue that being “forced” to provide consumer benefit isn’t the smartest reputational move. So, the sooner all parties get involved, the better for everyone. For those willing to step up to the plate, any challenges should pale into insignificance when compared to the long-term efficiencies and lower costs generated by the dashboard.”

Another industry partner, Origo MD Paul Pettitt said: “Origo was always confident that the technology required for the prototype and ultimately the dashboards to happen would be delivered on time. Origo was responsible for the development of a pension finder service within the prototype, the plumbing of the system if you will, which enables the data retrieval necessary to report the requested information back to the consumer in a secure and meaningful way.”

Also commenting, Standard Life head of pensions strategy Jamie Jenkins said the industry has to make “strides with technology” to respond to the changing behaviors of consumers. “Online access to pensions is nothing new, but the need to bring multiple pensions together in one dashboard is being accelerated by the move from DB to DC pensions. DC offers additional flexibility of choice and also means that employees need to take more responsibility for how much they save.”

“The reality is that many people already have more than one pension with multiple providers and this is a trend that is only likely to increase. People need a simple and flexible way to view their various pensions in one place, to see the bigger picture…2019 may seem like a long way off, but it’s crucial that everyone gets behind this to ensure it is delivered to consumers in a reliable, comprehensive and secure way.”

Furthermore, AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby said: “Allowing savers to see all their pensions in one place would be a welcome step forward and should help boost engagement with retirement saving. However, we need to be realistic and not treat this as some sort of panacea that will solve the savings gap in the UK.

“It is important policymakers are ambitious in building the dashboard and make it as useful for consumers as possible. The initial plans do not include ‘crystallised’ pensions where the individual has already started taking an income, for example through drawdown or buying an annuity. This feels like a mistake. A solution which excludes pensions in payment is completely inappropriate in a world where people have multiple pension pots and are increasingly likely to trigger pensions in only one of a number of schemes using the pension freedoms.”

Share Story: