PASA: Why small schemes face a different dashboard connection challenge

31 October 2026 is the final, mandatory deadline for all UK pension providers and schemes to connect to the dashboards ecosystem.

Many large in-house administered UK schemes are now connected via either an ecosystem-linking solution they have built or, more commonly, a commercial integrated service provider (ISP) they’ve chosen to partner with.

Small schemes managed in-house have the same obligation to connect to the dashboards ecosystem. However, with their resource limitations and, in many cases, reliance on manual administration processes, there’s a different and distinct set of operational challenges.

For these schemes, building their own connection is simply impractical, so they must rely on an external ISP. This places greater importance on decision-makers fully understanding their scheme’s operational needs and assessing the implementation support offered by an ISP.

The knock-on effects of poor matching

A good example of this is around the implementation of the scheme’s approach to matching.

The chosen technology needs to be flexible enough to support an effective matching approach aligned with industry good practice guidance from PASA, while preventing a bombardment of false ‘Possible Matches’, which generate extra manual work. This is a particular risk for smaller schemes.

Schemes also need confidence that their matching criteria are appropriate, tested, and can be refined as dashboards usage increases.

If matching is implemented poorly, it will result in failed dashboard searches, overloaded administration teams, reputational damage with disaffected members and ultimately, regulatory risk.

Other areas of focus

Beyond matching, there are other areas where an ISP solution must recognise the needs of smaller schemes and enable them to meet their legal requirements without difficulty. Member data for these schemes is usually very stable, meaning full member data refreshes may be infrequent. Instead, an administration team will need the ability to apply manual data amendments directly through a user interface, enabling swift action and avoiding internal bottlenecks.

Another consideration is the unique, varied style of record-keeping smaller schemes use (for example, legacy systems or, often, Excel). With the now-tight time constraints, flexible processes are required to ensure this data can be uploaded by administration teams not using commercial pension administration software – avoiding the need for significant manual effort.

Finally, connecting to dashboards is not a one-off compliance tick-box. The regulations already demand ongoing monitoring and reporting of dashboards activity, and the government will release updates to standards as dashboards evolve beyond the initial MoneyHelper launch. Schemes therefore need to ensure their chosen solution is robust, adaptable, and has a strong understanding of emerging industry expectations.

With the 31 October 2026 deadline approaching, decision-makers for small schemes need to be asking the right questions about whether the ISP they select is fit for the long term. Early, well-informed decisions will ensure rushed workaround remedies are avoided, before the UK public starts its full-scale use of the MoneyHelper pensions dashboard.

Maurice Titley is chair of the Pensions Administration Standards Association’s Dashboards Working Group.