With the pensions dashboards connection deadline approaching on 31 October, attention must turn to making sure schemes are operationally ready to deliver a seamless experience for members, Lumera has argued.

The firm highlighted that data quality will be fundamental to dashboards’ success, as schemes need to be confident that member can access the right information while having clear processes in place to resolve potential matches securely and efficiently.

The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) recently published guidance aimed at helping schemes resolve possible matches, which Lumera said highlighted the importance of balancing a straightforward member experience with appropriate verification and fraud prevention.

Lumera commercial director, data and dashboards, Maurice Titley, warned that this could be particularly challenging for smaller schemes, which need to prepare for increased member engagement with more limited resources.

“Connecting to the ecosystem is one challenge but ensuring administration teams, customer service and supporting systems can cope with the demands of public use is another,” Titley continued.

“Schemes must use the window before public launch to test their processes, address data weaknesses and strengthen governance and system resilience.

“Those that treat dashboards as an operational readiness exercise will be better placed to deliver a positive member experience and build a stronger foundation for the future of pensions administration.”

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