Latest dashboards delay is catastrophic for consumers

The delay was a “disappointment”, though “not a surprise”, said Barnett Waddingham principal Martin Willis. 

He added that while “the delay is obviously not the ideal outcome, it should set the scene for a more robust system”, and that “a delay is ultimately better than a failed launch”. 

Dr Yvonne Braun, director of policy, long-term savings, health and protection at the Association of British Insurers, agreed that a “reset is appropriate” .

“It's right that the regulatory deadlines for providers are pushed back in line with this delay. There needs to be enough time for testing and onboarding, with the industry closely involved and learning shared widely, to ensure that dashboards work for consumers and that they can fulfil their potential.”

Catastrophic and completely unnecessary

Other commentators were left seething at yet another hiatus.

During a cost of living crisis, when it has been acknowledged that many are making poor financial decisions at the point of retirement, there appeared to be more concern for those implementing the dashboards than the consumers they have been designed for. 

Duncan Stevens, chief executive of Gretel, the service that helps consumers find lost pensions, investments and other financial products, said that he could understand why the project has been delayed, but the action is far more extreme than he expected. 

“And from a consumer perspective, I think it's absolutely appalling,” he said. 

“We've got around 700,000 people hitting retirement age every year. By 2026 – if that is the new date – that will be another 2mn people hitting retirement, potentially unaware and certainly unable to track down their their past pensions through the pensions dashboards. 

“From a human perspective, that’s catastrophic and completely unnecessary.” 

There are already dashboards helping people track down pensions, so there are other ways, Stevens noted. 

“It could be delivered now, and at a fraction of the cost. We already doing it with providers on our platform, because they want to be closer to consumer duty requirements,” he said. 

“And commercially, they don’t want to wait three or four years to help their customers find their pensions. They want to be part of the solution now.”

Staggering development

AJ Bell head of policy development Rachel Vahey is frustrated at this “staggering development” that the plug has been pulled just weeks before connection was due to begin. 

This may mean that dashboards “are now at risk of being mothballed until the next parliament, and may never become a reality at all”.

She said that scrapping the timetable has left “the public and industry […] rudderless, with no idea of the current state of play”.

“Pensions dashboards are an important development, which had the potential to shake up pension saving in the UK. They would have given people the ability to see all their pensions in one place, leading to better engagement and helping savers making better pension decisions,” Vahey continued.

“The government has fumbled this opportunity, and in doing so they have let down UK pension savers. Developing pensions dashboards was always an ambitious project. To be effective it had to show someone all their pension savings, but that meant including all private pension schemes, public sector schemes and state pensions.

“The government should have got this right from the start. But they have now effectively pulled the plug just weeks before connection was due to start.”

Consumers need greater support

My Pension Expert policy director Lily Megson was quick to “applaud the government for not rushing to push out an inadequate project”.

She called on the government to offer greater support in the meantime, as research conducted by My Pension Expert found that more than one third (35 per cent) of UK adults believe they will be able to retire when they want to. 

“If the PDP is facing indefinite delays, the government must ask itself what further support can be provided in the interim. And one option could be ensuring all consumers are aware of independent financial advice, which can help them to better understand the state of their retirement finances and make informed decisions about their money,” Megson said. 

Fit for purpose

Questions have been raised about the suitability of the programme. Pensions minister Laura Trott said in her parliamentary statement: “The framework set out in the regulations for pensions dashboards remains fit for purpose.” 

For some, that reads like a beleaguered football manager receiving the full backing of the board. 

“There are some questions that remain unanswered about the digital framework,” said John Parker, sales and marketing director at CTC, an independent service provider working with clients who need to connect to the dashboards infrastructure.  

“There is still a question mark over security, as only recently they wanted to use the national insurance number as a main identification factor. That’s no longer an option.” 

The EU's revised payment services directive PSD2 – open banking – had to grapple with security in order to allow consumers to mandate the exchange of personal data. But open banking was rejected as having any relevance some years ago. 

“It does seem odd it didn't follow open banking frameworks. Banking is at the forefront of all kinds of individual security,” Parker said. 

“The last year has been a real setback with us all just treading water.”

But Moneyhub chief commercial officer Dan Scholey was upbeat about the delay. He said the announcement should not prevent commercial pensions dashboards from accelerating their propositions to market.

Always keep the customer front of mind, he said. “A delay in data connectivity isn’t a reason to delay dashboards availability for consumers.”

Too much left to the consumer

Employee Benefits Collective partner James Biggs was left angry at the latest delay to the dashboards. 

“If institutions themselves can't find you, you've got to go and find them. That’s leaving everything up to the consumer,” he said. 

Biggs regularly speaks with consumers about maximising their financial position and has a “four-point plan” for those who ned to track down old pensions. 

“First, go back to your old shoebox of shame, then go through your CV and contact those companies – if you can,” he said.

“Maybe use the pension tracing service, but be careful what you search for online as there are lots of people out there seeking to trap the unwary and flog you a service you can get for free if you go direct. 

“The last one is least popular, because it relies on rolling your sleeves up and contacting all the big pension providers to see if you are on their database. It's too much hard work for most people to do, which is why the dashboards is an essential tool for the unwilling consumer.”