Thousands of Brits will soon be able to see all their pension savings in one place as financial firms race to meet a key deadline.
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) which has so far cost at least £289 million, involves the development of an online tool where savers can see all their pensions in one place; at the end of this month most larger pension schemes, including most FCA-regulated schemes, will have to connect to the dashboard.
Last month the Pensions Dashboard website confirmed pension providers Heywood, Legal and General and Pension Fusion have passed the final stage of their ‘dashboard connection journey’ and that 20 other firms would follow suit.
So far it is larger pension schemes – including SIPP providers with 5,000 or more members and master trusts with memberships of 20,000 or more – that are being asked to connect by 30 April 2025.
They are not compelled to by law but all pension schemes have to connect to the dashboards by the final connection date of 31 October 2026.
By this point all pensions should be connected to the dashboard and Brits will be able to see all their pension pots in one place, however although the system will be in place the Department for Work and Pensions has not announcde when dashboards will be made available to the general public.
Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, said this month’s deadline was still welcome news. She said: “Pensions Dashboards will, this month, take a big step towards finally becoming reality.
“The larger pension schemes – including those operated by SIPP providers with 5,000 or more members and master trusts with memberships of 20,000 or more – will connect to the Pensions Dashboard, enabling them to pass on information on pension scheme members following a request by a customer for all their pension information.
“This could be the start of the dashboard revolution. Other smaller pension schemes, as well as the state pension and public sector schemes, should soon also follow suit, and eventually most pension schemes should have connected by 31 October 2026.
“Pensions Dashboards have the potential to help millions of people better engage with their pensions. Once they have a complete picture of their pension wealth, people can make important decisions such as whether to contribute more, combine pensions into one, or when and how to take pension income.
“The big question that remains is when will Pensions Dashboards launch to the public? DWP plans on setting a date only when it is confident a very high percentage of members’ pension records can be found, and once the dashboards are working well. Otherwise, it risks the project falling flat on its face if not enough people can find all their pensions, undermining public confidence.”
