On the go: The Pensions Dashboards Programme is inviting organisations that intend to provide a pensions dashboard to help test the development of the project’s ecosystem.
PDP intends to work with up to three commercially developed dashboards, to ensure the technology and its standards work for different types of dashboard providers. These tests will run alongside those being held by the Money and Pensions Service.
PDP said that while it is still refining standards and systems, the commercial testing system will provide potential providers “with an opportunity to influence the design of pensions dashboards and help identify any challenges with connecting to the central technical architecture”.
The testing process will aim to refine the connection process for dashboard providers connecting to the ecosystem in the future.
PDP said that it is committed to providing further information on any learnings that arise from the testing process and will make this available via its website regularly.
In September, PDP appointed Capgemini, in partnership with fintech Origo, as the supplier of the project’s central technical architecture. The programme’s principal, Chris Curry, said that the organisations were “now working very closely” with PDP to begin work on the deliverables.
PDP will select potential dashboard providers based on their appetite to get involved, their existing capability to deliver on similar projects, their capacity to support PDP, and openness to sharing findings, among other factors.
PDP will announce which dashboard providers it has chosen to take part in the testing by the end of November 2021.
It will support the selected organisations to connect their dashboards to the central digital architecture during its initial test phase, which runs for six months from December 2021.
Provided they meet the criteria, there may be scope for dashboard providers not selected in the first round to participate during later test phases.
Raman Dhaliwal, head of product at PDP, said: “We are keen to hear from a range of organisations that intend to supply pensions dashboards. We look forward to working with these organisations to develop and refine the standards and systems for pensions dashboards via a robust testing process.
“Ultimately, we want the pensions dashboards ecosystem to work effectively for all, so we can work together to provide a dashboard service that benefits consumers,” she added.
Pensions Expert reported in September that Curry expects October’s progress report update to confirm that the dashboards programme is “on track to meet the broad timeline” that has previously been set out, following a series of industry concerns around the feasibility of the project.
