The appeal and uptake of pensions dashboards are likely to be “heavily dependent” on the information displayed by the service at the point of launch, according to research by the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP).

Its qualitative survey of potential dashboard users found that the premise of a ‘find only’ service, which listed pension entitlements but not values, had some appeal, but mostly among those who know they have lost pension pots.

The levels of appeal and perceived impact of a find only service at the point of launch were reduced among those towards the beginning of their pension saving journey, as well as those with only one pension pot.

However, a ‘find and view’ service, which contained both accrued and projected value information, was found to have a wide level of appeal and was the most likely to drive the greatest amount of engagement with dashboards.

The research noted that a phased launch was likely to “significantly impact” the perceived appeal and value of the service for some users, especially those later in their careers and those looking to use dashboards to guide their financial decision making in the short to medium term.

The PDP’s research found that pension value information was “critical” to both the initial and long-term appeal of the service.

It also tested the different stages of the potential user journey, with all stages considered “intuitive and logical” even among those less likely to use dashboards, according to the PDP.

The vast majority of surveyed users said that positioning dashboards as a government service added credibility and provided the necessary reassurance to overcome initial concerns about data sharing, confidentiality and security.

“However, in addition to this, a combination of brand familiarity, the way in which the service is positioned/described, and signposting from trusted and credible sources are also key to reassuring potential users of the legitimacy and relevance of all potential dashboard services,” the PDP noted.

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