FTI Consulting UK Public Affairs Snapshot: Why pensions dashboards can’t wait

In this debate, there is one transformative tool missing: pensions dashboards. These promise to transform how people track their pensions savings by bringing them onto one platform. With millions of pensions currently lost or forgotten, at the same time as pension poverty is increasing, the urgency to implement this system is clear. 

Pensions savings in Britain is fragmented. Many individuals accumulate multiple pension pots over their working lives, often losing track of them. For example, Nest, the default workplace pension provider, currently has 4.5 million active members but around 10 million deferred members (those who have stopped paying and have neither transferred their pot nor retired). 

Both the previous government and the new government have recognised this challenge, and the Starmer administration is now moving to address this by driving greater consolidation in defined contribution (DC) schemes. Labour has prioritised a Pensions Review, which looks at this issue as part of it.

Dashboards have been in development since 2016, but are not yet in place. They aim to provide a clear view of retirement savings, and without their successful implementation, consolidation will be challenging. Centralisation of information will help people make more informed decisions, such as understanding how much they have saved, whether their savings are on track for retirement, and if they need to make adjustments to their contributions. By being able to see all their pensions in one place, individuals can better manage their financial planning for later life – and be able to see the real benefits of consolidation.

Britain has made progress in implementing the pensions dashboards, though there have been notable delays. The “Dashboards Available Point” (DAP) – when the public can access their pensions data – is now anticipated to happen between 2025 and 2026, with the final deadline for all pension providers to connect being 31 October 2026.

The Pension Dashboards Programme (PDP), under the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), oversees this effort, working in conjunction with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to develop the necessary digital infrastructure. Although several milestones have been met, including the development of technical standards, connection timelines have been extended due to the complexity of the ecosystem and the need for more time to ensure full compliance by providers.

There is concern that these delays may create further complications for those trying to plan for retirement effectively. Any further lags will also lay questions at the new government’s door, with its focus on pension reform, DC pension consolidation and better consumer outcomes.

Successful consolidation will depend extensively on the introduction of pension dashboards, and there is a risk that the proliferation of small pots will likely continue without the tool. With an aging population and increasing pressure on the state pension and related benefits, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, is already sounding the alarm on an impending retirement crisis. Delays to the dashboards will only help accelerate its arrival.

Delays will also likely attract political scrutiny from Parliament’s select committees, which will raise concerns around the project’s pace and its implications for consumers. Dame Meg Hillier, the new Chair for the Treasury Committee, in her former role as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, raised her disappointment that the programme had been delayed due to a “lack of skilled resources and ineffective governance”.

As pension awareness rises up the agenda, with ongoing dialogue on increasing automatic enrolment and the need for sustainable retirement savings, it is likely pensions dashboards – and the progress of their implementation – will remain on committee agendas, especially the Public Accounts Committee, which is chaired by the Opposition.

The Chancellor, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Minister for Pensions have made limited comments on the dashboard since moving into Whitehall, despite this tool being crucial for pensions reform. The Government needs to balance its priorities if it is to avoid public dissatisfaction and a lack of confidence in the review’s ability to improve consumer outcomes. The prize is clear: this review marks a pivotal milestone in Labour’s policy reform, and a fully functional pensions dashboard could transform the landscape of scheme consolidation.