Pensions dashboard 'prototype' displaying your pots with 11 top firms will be ready by March, says Government

  • Eleven firms have signed up to work on dashboard project so far
  • Government still mulling compulsory scheme  to ensure a blanket service
  • 'Think of a future where you can compare your pension pots with the touch of a button,' says Government 

By TANYA JEFFERIES, PENSIONS AND INVESTMENT EDITOR

Updated:

A prototype 'pension dashboard' aimed at allowing people to view their retirement savings in one place will be ready by next March, the Government has announced.

Details of how the dashboard will look and work in practice are scanty, but it is expected to include a state pension forecast, savings updates from at least 11 pension firms that have signed up to work on the project so far, and help to find 'lost' pots.

It is understood the Government is still mulling whether to introduce legislation or regulation to force all providers to participate, and ensure it is a blanket service.

Driving innovation: The Government announced plans to launch a pension dashboard by 2019 in this year's Budget

Driving innovation: The Government announced plans to launch a pension dashboard by 2019 in this year's Budget

Firms such as Aviva, Standard Life and Zurich have volunteered to support the venture, under the overall management of industry body the Association of British Insurers.

But the Government might find difficulty encouraging on board those running pension schemes now closed to new members, and potentially looking to wind down operations rather than update systems to make them compatible with an industry-wide dashboard.

Plans to launch a dashboard by 2019 were announced in this year's Budget, and the Treasury unveiled news of the prototype saying: 'The Pensions Dashboard is a platform that lets savers see all their pension pots in one place and will help them to plan for their retirement more effectively.

'On average, a person can have 11 employers over their working life, which means that they could end up with almost a dozen private pensions by the time they retire.

'At the moment there is no way for people to see the value of all of their pensions in one place and research has shown that over a third of people approaching retirement find it difficult to keep track of their pension pots.'

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said that technology like mobile phone apps has made day-to-day banking easier than it's ever been and it was time for pensions to catch up.

'Think of a future where you can compare your pension pots with the touch of a button,' he added.

The full list of pension firms helping to build the dashboard prototype is: Aviva, Aon, HSBC, LV=, NEST, Now: Pensions, People’s Pension, Royal London, Standard Life, Zurich and Willis Towers Watson.

Earlier this year, the Government started testing an online state pension forecasting tool for workers of all ages. 

Previously, only people aged 50-plus could find out how much new state pension - the flat-rate version for those retiring from April 2016 onwards - they were in line to receive by applying over the phone or by post. 

The Government is expected to include some version of this tool or at least a link to it in the pensions dashboard.

It is also set to link to its free Pension Tracing Service to help people find lost retirement pots. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that some £400million worth of pensions savings are currently unclaimed. 

Savers wanting to use the free service should take care if they do an an online search for it, as many companies using similar names will pop up in the results. These will also offer to look for your pension, but try to charge or flog you other services, and could be fraudulent.

The Mail on Sunday recently published a guide to tracing old, unclaimed pensions. 

Tom Selby, senior analyst at financial services firm AJ Bell, said: 'The pensions dashboard is a significant project that could drastically improve consumer engagement in retirement saving, so it is good to see some progress being made.

'The key now is how quickly it can be expanded beyond the initial ABI remit so that it becomes of real use to people. The dashboard must be able to accommodate state pension savings as a starting point, given the fact this is the foundation on which private savings are built.

'It’s vital that the Pensions Dashboard is as all-encompassing as possible, and most modern platforms, personal pension providers and auto-enrolment schemes should have no problem linking into the technology once it is built.

'However, closed-book providers operating on outdated back-office technology systems may need to be dragged kicking and screaming to participate - through legislation if necessary.'

Robert Gardner, co-founder of pension investment consultant Redington, said: 'This is a pivotal moment for British savers as the pensions dashboard will allow consumers to access the performance of all of their pension pots in one place – which is essential to successful long-term saving and retirement planning.

'A simple, easy-to-understand interface or dashboard will allow all savers to plot their saving journeys and periodically answer crucial questions such as, am I saving enough and what level of retirement income can I expect?'

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