Pension dashboards are getting closer to becoming a reality. By the end of October 2026, all pension schemes and providers must be connected to the pension dashboard ecosystem. And if they’re implemented well, they could improve individuals’ retirement outcomes.
Here you’ll find an overview of pension dashboards, how they’ll work and the role you, as an employer, can play to support better outcomes for your members:
- Pension dashboards in a nutshell
- Connecting to the pension dashboard ecosystem
- Commercial pension dashboard services
- What will people be able to see and do on dashboards?
- Why pension dashboards will be important to employers?
- When can the public access pension dashboards?
We expect the new Government to support the pensions dashboards initiative and don’t anticipate any changes to the timetable at this stage.
1. Pension dashboards in a nutshell
Who are pension dashboards for?
Pension dashboards will be a free service allowing individuals to see all their pensions in one place, securely online, reconnecting people with their pensions. This includes all pensions at the savings or accumulation stage not yet in payment – including individual, workplace, private and public sector, defined benefit and defined contribution as well as State pensions.
Dashboards have the potential to be a gamechanger in improving pensions knowledge and understanding, and for transforming how people engage with their pension savings. I hope they’ll support better retirement planning and improved financial wellbeing.
What will pension dashboards do?
When first launched, pension dashboards will largely be informative, showing individuals how much they’ve saved, with a projected retirement income, links to useful information and online tools. Transactions, such as pension pot consolidation, won’t be permitted on the dashboards, but they’ll be allowed ‘off dashboard’.
The Government and regulators are expected to take an iterative, but cautious approach, to the evolution of dashboards. In future this may also include pensions in decumulation, wider savings products and other assets. We’re hoping the rules will evolve to allow individuals to take actions on dashboards with the help of advisers and the FCA’s proposed targeted support. Ultimately, pension dashboards could be similar to open banking.
2. Connecting to the pension dashboard ecosystem
It’s a legal requirement for all pension schemes and pension providers with more than 100 active and deferred members to connect to the pension dashboard ecosystem by 31 October 2026. DWP guidance sets outs the individual staging or ‘connect by dates’ by membership size and scheme type. So, if your workplace scheme meets this criteria, it will be in scope of the regulations. The first ‘connect by dates’ start from 30 April 2025, with the largest occupational schemes including Master Trusts as well as FCA regulated pension providers connecting first.
Roles and responsibilities
Pension providers running workplace group personal pension (GPP) schemes and trustees of occupational pension schemes are responsible for making this happen. Many schemes and providers are using third parties or ‘integrated service providers’ to do this.
As the staging dates are set out in the guidance, rather than legislation, they’re not strictly mandatory. However, the regulators will require occupational pension scheme and FCA regulated providers to ‘have regard’ to the guidance, and they’ll monitor whether the guidance dates will be followed. It’s important that schemes and pensions providers keep to their connect by dates to avoid a log jam if leaving it too late. Your adviser should be able to support you and keep you informed about whether your scheme is on track to meet your connect by date.
The Pension Dashboard Programme (PDP), run through Money and Pension Services (MaPS), is responsible for designing and implementing the central digital architecture which will make pension dashboards work. It’s also responsible for setting the standards which provide the rules and controls for the pension dashboard ecosystem.
3. Commercial pension dashboard services
Legislation is in place to allow for commercial pension dashboard service providers (PDS), which is a FCA regulated activity. PDS will have to meet high conduct standards and will be authorised by the FCA. Final rules are expected to be published towards the end of 2024. Firms wishing to offer a PDS, will need to apply for FCA authorisation through its authorisation gateway – this is expected to open in 2025.
We expect there will be multiple commercial PDS providers, perhaps as many as 20, along with one non-commercial dashboard run out of MaPS – the Money Helper pension dashboard. Individuals will be able to access any PDS to view their data. However, we expect it’s more likely they’ll use one provided by the pension provider they’re actively saving with, if offered, rather than using one they have no relationship with.
4. What will people be able to see and do on pension dashboards?
Individuals will be able to view all their pension data on PDS, and if their PDS offers this, can then select ‘post-view’ services where their data will populate a range of tools and modellers developed by their PDS.
Find and view dashboard services
Individuals will be able to make a ‘find’ request using the identity service. If successful, and a full match is made, the individual will then be able to view prescribed basic information in a standard format about their scheme:
- Scheme name, and date they joined the scheme
- Employer name and dates
- Fund value/ accrued pensions data
- Projected estimated income at retirement date
- Links to useful information, such as pension charges and valuable benefits
Live data won’t be required for the first iteration of pension dashboards. Instead pension schemes / providers can supply the latest annual benefit statement data, but it can’t be older than 13 months.
If a partial match is identified, the individual can only view limited information such as scheme name and the pension scheme administrator’s contact details. Contacting the scheme administrator could turn the partial match into a full match.
If no match is made, there won’t be any returns.
Post-view dashboard services
In addition to the ‘find and view’ services, PDS can choose to offer post-view services. These services are expected to include a range of innovative and engaging tools, modellers and educational content. Post view services will help individuals make sense of their aggregate pension dashboard data, to make decisions about their pension.
Transactions, such as pension consolidation or increasing pension contributions, won’t be permitted to take place on pension dashboards. Neither will it be possible to make any product reference, or market to the individual. These can only be made ’off dashboard’, so using the pension providers or scheme’s online tools and processes, and it won’t be permitted to pre-populate off dashboard services with PDS data.
Putting the customer at heart of dashboards
The rules have been specifically designed to put the customer at the heart of dashboards. They can choose to access any pension dashboard they wish, and they’ll also be in charge of their PDS data.
The FCA has been consulting on the rules about pension dashboard data sharing and how this can be used via the data export and delegated access facilities. Based on the FCA proposed rules, individuals will be able to export their pension dashboard data to themselves and to the PDS firm to use within the post-view services. They won’t be able to export this data off dashboard, or take any actions while on dashboard, such as pension consolidation.
Individuals can opt to give consent to a delegate to view their PDS data. A delegate is strictly defined in the rules and includes a MaPS guider or person with regulatory permission to give investment advice.
Not all PDS’s will offer data export or delegated access, so you may wish to encourage your members to use a PDS which does offer this facility.
5. Why pension dashboards will be important to employers
As nearly every job now comes with a pension, many employees will have built up multiple pensions, and they might not have kept track of these. Having pension data all in one place allows people to see how much they’ve saved, and using post-view services, could improve retirement planning and inform decision-making.
This might mean that employees value their workplace pension scheme more, improving their financial wellbeing, and retirement outcomes enabling them to retire.
6. When can the public access pension dashboards?
Currently there’s no published timetable for launching PDS to the public. It’s the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to publish the ‘Dashboard Availability Point’ (DAP) – the ‘go-live’ date. The pension industry must be given 6 months’ notice so they have time to get ‘dashboard ready’, gearing up to support the expected surge in customer queries.
Current timelines and predictions
The DAP will be dependent on a sufficient number of schemes / memberships having connected to the dashboard ecosystem (critical mass) and other key performance indictor criteria being met. The DAP could be as early as mid-2026, before the statutory deadline of 31 October 2026, as 99% of all schemes and the vast majority of scheme memberships are due to be connected to the pension dashboard ecosystem around May/ June 2026.
The public will need to be made aware of the existence of pension dashboards, what they do, and where they can get additional support. It’s not yet clear whether the Government will take the lead in promoting pension dashboards. Whatever happens, the pension industry will work in collaboration with the Government to build the public’s awareness and encourage people to use a PDS to help improve pension understand and financial literacy. It will be critical that consumers have confidence and trust in pension dashboards, and that their expectations are met to make sure they use the service and keep on coming back.
Keeping up to date
Staying up to date with the latest developments is crucial at this time, especially to help you and your members with the initial set-up stages. There’s likely to be further updates as we move closer to ‘connect by’ dates. Look out for future articles on our insights hub, where you’ll find content on the latest regulatory updates and insights to support you and your members.