From the blog: People have, on average, 11 different pension pots over the course of their lifetime, making it a near-impossible task to keep track of them.
The pensions dashboard initiative therefore offers a fantastic opportunity to streamline this process, help consumers plan their retirement more effectively and go some way towards plugging the savings gap.
But there are still challenges and barriers that must be overcome if the project is to come to full fruition.
The pensions dashboard initiative therefore offers a fantastic opportunity to streamline this process, help consumers plan their retirement more effectively and go some way towards plugging the savings gap.
But there are still challenges and barriers that must be overcome if the project is to come to full fruition.
We need to ensure we are not just ticking a box but designing a solution grounded in user needs
The first is timing. The project has thus far been passed between numerous financial bodies before finally landing with the Department for Work and Pensions; arguably where it always belonged. While it is understandable that the DWP is now conducting its own feasibility study on the project, it does feel like we are jumping back to square one.
A great deal of insight and progress has already been made by the various research and prototyping phases conducted by the Money Advice Service, HM Treasury, the Association of British Insurers and others, so it is frustrating that progress isn’t happening more quickly. A clear timeline must be implemented to ensure all relevant parties stay focused on the end goal.
The second issue is compulsion. For this initiative to feasibly work on a national scale – and deliver on its core promise – we need to establish a set of robust data standards. It seems likely the government will need to commit to legislation ensuring all providers (at least 95 per cent) make their data available to the system.
There is much to be learnt from the experiences of Sweden and other countries, where participation was legally mandated, and this decision was a key factor in the success those countries have since seen in delivering a similar initiative.
Dashboard has to be more than box-ticking
The third challenge is user engagement. We need to ensure we are not just ticking a box but designing a solution grounded in user needs. It is the real people we want to engage, as it is they who will benefit the most from this project.
Providing a user-friendly, government-backed platform on which the pensions dashboard can be hosted will be vitally important, and the soon-to-be-established single financial guidance body would be an ideal solution to this. The DWP is yet to clarify its role, and we would urge that a decision is made as soon as possible.
Ultimately, if we don’t deliver a dashboard designed with the end user’s needs at front of mind, then it will all have been for nothing.
Shaun Gomm is commercial director of digital user experience agency Sigma
