What is the Pension Dashboard Programme and what does this mean for pension providers?

On the 1st of November, The Financial Conduct Authority announced the deadline for when pension providers will need to provide member data for pension dashboards.

The FCA made two changes to the draft of its original rules, which were originally published in February 2022.

It has been reported that an estimated £26.6bn is sitting in lost pension pots. According to Yahoo Finance’s article from November 1st, the number of lost pensions has jumped 75% to 2.8 million over the past four years, and they are now worth 37% more in total at £26.6bn – or £9,500 on average, according to figures from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).

What is the Pensions Dashboard Programme?

The Pensions Dashboard Programme will allow consumers to see information about all their pensions in one, easy to access dashboard. It will include all their private pensions, their defined benefit or defined contribution, workplace, or retail, old or new, as well as any public sector pensions, including their state pensions.

Why will Pension Dashboards Benefit the Consumer?

With so much lost in pension pots, the pensions dashboards have the potential to benefit consumers in several ways. It will equip the consumer with the relevant information regarding the pensions they have, therefore making it easier to plan for retirement, or to simply get advice or guidance when needed by informing the consumer and showing total transparency. The FCA states that encouraging consumers to better engage with their pensions is one of their top priorities in this market.

The Pension Schemes Act 2021 obliges the FCA to make rules requiring FCA regulated pension providers to provide and enable information about personal and stakeholder pensions to be provided for the pension’s dashboards. The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) announced that they will soon publish the standards, specifications and technical requirements for all components and participants in the system, including details that providers must follow to comply with the requirements of the rules.

What Next?

With the final rules now set out by the FCA, firms must implement these rules by 31 August 2023. Firms effected, do have the option to use the later implementation date as published in PS22/12, as long as the FCA are notified by 30 April 2023. According to the FCA’s article from the 1st November, The Pensions Dashboard Programme, which is a function of MaPS, will also soon publish updated versions of the standards that pension providers must adhere to under the final rules. Failure to comply with these rules, will result in action taken against the firms responsible. In some cases, non-compliance could lead to enforcement action.

If you are a Pension Provider, find out more about how the ComplyPortal platform can help firms adapt to new regulatory expectations at: https://complyportal.uk/modules/

About ComplyPortal:

First developed in 2011 by compliance professionals for compliance officers, ComplyPortal offers workflow, automation, and several modules to help firms with control and regulatory compliance monitoring.

ComplyPortal simplifies financial services regulatory compliance management on an easy-to-use cloud-based comprehensive compliance platform. It enables compliance officers, risk officers and senior management to keep track of their firm’s regulatory responsibilities and workflows. Our platform includes the following modules, among others:

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