PMI highlights dashboard development in ‘crucial year’ for project

That’s the message from a new report published by the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) in partnership with a number of its members exploring the development of dashboards, with six months left until the statutory connection deadline.

More than 60 million workplace and personal pension records have been connected to the dashboard ecosystem, and the government-backed MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard is in its second phase of testing.

Writing in the report, Chris Curry, industry principal for the Pensions Dashboards Programme, said: “2026 is a crucial year for pensions dashboards. With connection progressing at pace, it is vital that schemes keep going, get their data ready, and take decisions now, including on their matching approach.

“Dashboards have the potential to transform how people understand and engage with their pensions.” 

Gareth Tancred, chief executive of the PMI, added that the advent of dashboards represented “one of the most significant digital transformations the pensions sector has ever undertaken”.

The report covers technical aspects such as the options for schemes to match their data with dashboard requests, as well as wider considerations such as governance and member engagement.

RSM calls for awareness campaign

Last week, the Society of Pension Professionals published the results of a poll showing concerns about the industry’s capacity to handle an expected spike in member enquiries once dashboards are made available to the public.

However, Andrew Aston, pensions audit director at RSM UK, said this concern “assumes that the public will be aware of the dashboards, and actively seek to use them”.

Aston continued: “This will be the biggest change for pension savers since auto-enrolment in 2012. It represents an exciting opportunity to address the current lack of understanding around adequate pension saving and encourage people to check what’s in their various pots.

“It’s therefore crucial that a widespread communications campaign is in place, yet so far, we have not heard any details on plans for this critical public awareness piece on which the success of dashboards depends…

“Enormous time and investment have gone into developing dashboards, so it’s crucial this programme succeeds, and clear communication is key. It would be a shame to waste these efforts to improve public engagement with pensions if insufficient time is given to maximising publicity around it.”