Pensions dashboards are being heralded by the industry as a tool that will encourage consumers to locate and engage with their pension pots. But once the data is viewable, what could happen next?
The state-backed MoneyHelper dashboard, currently in the early stages of testing, will operate as a “view-only” interface when it launches. Users will be able to identify the pension pots in their name and see the amounts in their respective pots through one portal.
But what about beyond this? Will pensions dashboards will be expected to offer more interactive tools and features in the future?
Chris Curry, principal of the Pensions Dashboards Programme at the Money and Pensions Service, says the value of view-only should not be underestimated.
“We know that there’s a very low level of understanding and knowledge about pensions in the UK generally,” he said.
“The MoneyHelper dashboard – by allowing people to see all their pensions information in one place, free of charge and free of any sales – is an important part of kicking that journey off.”
What consumers want and expect
For Paul Muir, co-managing director at technology provider Dunstan Thomas, while dashboards have “great aims” and “potential”, the view-only iteration offers “limited benefits”, particularly as schemes are only required to provide the latest annual statement, which could be as much as a year out of date.
“It has a humble starting point. We talk about these post-view services and what they might look like, and there’s not a lot of detail there,” Muir added.
The UK government recently reaffirmed its commitment to private sector dashboards, following a period of uncertainty about their future. Given that these will be offered by fintechs, pension providers and banks, they will want to offer more interactive features to keep users engaged.
“With appropriate permissions, private dashboards could also display a user’s pension information alongside their wider financial data, such as their bank account through open banking.”
Rob Yuille, ABI
Consumer research by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and published in 2021 found that tools such as “sliders” to model age and income, the ability to consolidate pensions, and transact are less of a priority for consumers than completeness and timeliness of data.
“However, the majority of consumers who saw more interactive features felt they would be useful,” the ABI stated.
Rob Yuille, head of long-term savings policy at the ABI, says private dashboards will provide “post-view services such as forecasting and modelling tools tailored to the individual and based on their data”.
“With appropriate permissions, private dashboards could also display a user’s pension information alongside their wider financial data, such as their bank account through open banking,” Yuille continues. “This could help users embed pension saving into their day-to-day financial planning.”
Expected timelines – when and how?
To get to an interactive dashboard will require assurance from the government, as well as investment from pension providers.
Giving evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee earlier this year, Brian Byrnes, head of personal finance at Moneybox, indicated that the proposed regulations for dashboards were “onerous” and “restrictive”.
At the same hearing, independent dashboards consultant Richard Smith told the committee that he did not think there would be any commercial dashboards due to the nature of the proposed rules.
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Standard Life’s retirement savings director Mike Ambery agrees that a commitment to private sector dashboards is required, followed by the “technology and ability”. He added that “providers, like ourselves, are already investing in this and have run pathways to be able to facilitate launch at any point in time”.
Ambery believes the UK is two to three years out from being able to offer more than view-only dashboards, however.
“The original point, for me, behind dashboards is to supply information to consumers to then consider and make choices,” he said. “The making [of those] choices and making it easy electronically via technology is the next phase of that journey.”
The ABI’s Yuille says “an indicative timeline” from the government will enable providers to plan, “including securing the required development funds to introduce dashboards and post-view services into their digital estates”.
The association has previously called for policy and regulatory support for private sector dashboard providers, in part to boost the development of services beyond “view only”.
Dunstan Thomas’s Muir said: “Whatever we do is never going to answer all of the [retirement] scenarios, and I don’t think we should try to do that – it gets really complex. But anything we can do to provide some insight and signposting, then ultimately direct people to more established financial advice.”
Ellie Duncan is a freelance journalist and author of ‘Open Banking and Financial Inclusion: Creating a Financial System That Provides Security and Equity’.
