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Pensions Dashboards will soon become a reality, allowing members of the public to request to see their occupational, personal and state pension information side-by-side. Trustees and pensions providers must have regard to the connections guidance issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which sets out “connect by” dates, depending on scheme type and size. The first schemes are scheduled to connect by the end of April 2025. Trustees and pensions providers should have plans in place to ensure that connection can be achieved on time.
Our Resources
- Our guide helps trustees to add garnish to their dashboards connection plans by focusing on some practical points that should not be overlooked.
- Philip Sutton’s blog Pensions Dashboards – Avoid the Legal Ruck considers when legal advice is necessary or advisable.
- The Pensions Regulator (TPR) expects trustees to produce or update a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) as part of dashboards compliance. Our Pensions Life Hack on DPIAs contains more information.
- Dashboards compliance will cause additional work for pensions administrators, which will need to be properly resourced. Our Quick Guide addresses how trustees should monitor and address problems with administration service standards.
- Kirsty McLean’s short video highlights some of the key considerations for pension schemes. (This was filmed before the dashboards connect by dates were reset, but the key messages remain the same.)
Key External Resources
- The “connect by” date for each scheme can be established by consulting the DWP connections guidance or TPR’s online tool.
- Trustees and personal pensions providers must comply with standards published by The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP).
- TPR’s initial guidance sets out its expectations for trustees on dashboards compliance and contains a handy “preparing to connect checklist” that can be used as the basis of a project plan.
- The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) produces practical guidance on dashboards compliance, including data matching conventions and options for dealing with additional voluntary contributions.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office provides more information on DPIAs.
- The Financial Conduct Authority’s rules apply to providers of personal and stakeholder pensions. The FCA also regulates firms operating commercial dashboards.
- Local government administering authorities should consult the Local Government Pension Scheme dashboards guidance.
