Everyone with a pension in the UK is set to benefit from a new streamlined and joined-up system where they will be able to view all of their pensions in one place - and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have finally released a date for when it should be completed.
Called the pension dashboard, the online system will allow people see all of their pensions pots in one place, including their workplace, private, and state pensions. The free system will also help connect people to pension pots they had lost, or did not even know they had.
According to the DWP update issued earlier this week, the first pension schemes to connect to the system will do so in August 2024, while larger pension schemes with more than 20,000 members are on-track to be connected the dashboard by the end of April 2025. This will be followed by other pension schemes, with the final connection set for October 2026, reports the Express.
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Medium schemes, with 100 to 1,000 members, are expected to connect across 2026 with the final deadline of September 20, 2026. Lastly, all schemes will have to be legally connected to the dashboard system by October 31, 2026.
Pensions minister Paul Maynard has shared some good news about the pensions dashboards. He said, "The government is absolutely committed to delivering pensions dashboards safely and securely to the public at the earliest opportunity. The publication of the connection timetable marks a significant milestone towards launching pensions dashboards, and takes us closer to introducing a service that has the potential to transform how individuals plan for retirement."
He also pointed out, "Whilst the timetable is not mandatory, it is a legal requirement that trustees or managers of occupational pension schemes and providers of personal and stakeholder pensions have regard to this guidance."
Chris Curry, who is in charge of the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP), mentioned they will keep working with people in the industry as they prepare for the first connections.
Curry also said, "Pension dashboards will be a crucial tool to support retirement planning. By showing people's pensions together in one, online and secure place, they will boost pension engagement, benefiting individuals and industry.
"Delivering dashboards is complex, and I'm continually grateful for the spirit of cooperation across Government, regulators and industry. The timetable for connection is an important step on the journey to making dashboards a reality."
The idea for a pensions dashboard was first talked about in 2015, and it was supposed to start in 2019. But because of some problems with the technology, they had to change the date it would begin a few times.
