A petition looking to save the pension dashboard from extinction has now gained over 125,000 signatures since it started.

The petition surfaced following rumours that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, was planning to kill off the project over concerns that it would distract from the government’s attempt to roll out universal credit.

The speculation has caused a fierce backlash from the pensions industry, many of whom were heavily invested in the development of the dashboard.

The strength of the petition means that were it an official government petition it would have the right to be debated in Parliament.

Origo managing director Anthony Rafferty commented: “The petition launched by 38 Degrees in response to media reports that the Pensions Dashboard might not go ahead has passed 100,000 signatures, showing the depth of feeling and the support that the initiative has in the country. The benefits of the Pensions Dashboard are easily seen and have clearly struck a chord with people.

“We believe the pension dashboard is a superb opportunity for Government and the industry to provide a simple way for UK pension holders in the country to track their pensions, understand their value and what that means for their future and where appropriate, to act on their data in their best interests.”

Last month, Baroness Buscombe said that the decision depends on a number of functionality issues and that it wanted to cover “all challenging issues associated with the dashboard”, when answering a question in the House of Lords.

However, she refused to acknowledge whether the ongoing rollout of universal credit had anything to do with the dashboard rumours.

The dashboard feasibility study is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed this year.

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