The pensions industry needs a technology forum to discuss future innovation and help drive forward service provision, Pensions Administration Standards Association chairman Margaret Snowdon has recommended.

The technology forum would be an industry group comprised of administration, communications and guidance providers, along with technology companies with web, digital ID, voice recognition, data security and data management capabilities, and traditional administration platform providers, “to talk openly about future innovation and implications to help drive forward service provision in the UK”, Snowdon suggested.

“There are pockets of great stuff [technology use] here and there, but I am always surprised by the lack of knowledge out there,” she explained. “This could be a case of keeping things as they are to avoid expense, and also a feature of having an industry of thousands of small schemes, but without innovation, we will remain inefficient and behind other service areas where technology is embraced.”

The pensions dashboard currently in production will start to show “that technology is essential and can be used to integrate for the benefit of members and providers”, Snowdon added.

Margaret Snowdon was recently appointed by HM Treasury to the senior level steering group for the pensions dashboard prototype project. She will be one of two independent members of the steering group and will represent the pensions industry.

Aviva, Aon, B&CE, HSBC, LV, Nest, Now: Pensions, Royal London, Standard Life, Willis Towers Watson and Zurich have agreed to work together to build the first working prototype of the dashboard, while the ABI has agreed to project manage the whole process. The prototype is set to be completed by March 2017.

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