The Government’s Pensions Dashboard Programme is to be reset to deal with unexpected complexities in connecting a range of IT systems.
Minister for Pensions Laura Trott MP announced the move, saying this will involve pushing back the first connection beyond the intended date of 31 August this year.
Trott also said that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which ran a consultation on the programme last year, will play a full role in the reset.
The programme is aimed at providing a framework for dashboards to give people easy access to information about their various pensions, with the Money and Pensions Service taking the lead in delivering the architecture and developing a dashboard for government.
It involves the development of new technology to connect pension providers and schemes, with Capgemini signed in 2021 to help deliver the central technical architecture.
“More time is needed to deliver this complex build, and for the pensions industry to help facilitate the successful connection of a wide range of different IT systems to the dashboard’s digital architecture,” Trott said.
Delivery plan to come
She said a new chair of the programme board will set out a new plan for delivery, and that the solution will be within the framework of the Pensions Dashboard Regulations 2022 and the Financial Conduct Authority’s relevant rules.
“The framework set out in the regulations for pensions dashboards remains fit for purpose,” Trott said. “DWP will legislate at the earliest opportunity to amend the timing of these obligations to provide clarity to schemes.
“We will ensure that the pensions industry has adequate time and the necessary technical information to prepare for any revised connection deadlines. I will provide a further update to the House before summer recess.”
She added: “Pensions dashboards will be a vital tool to help savers plan for their retirement and the Government remains thoroughly committed to their delivery.”
This is the latest in a series of delays to the programme, plans for which date back to the mid-2010s, and which was previously set back by indications of a lack of data from pensions providers. The current programme timeline shows that voluntary connections and testing were due to take place last year, with staged connections and the availability of the first dashboards expected this year.
