On the go: The pensions dashboards initiative needs to hit the ground running and offer a comprehensive ‘find and view’ service from its point of launch in order to maximise its chances of success, according to Ipsos Mori research.
The Money and Pensions Service’s Pensions Dashboards Programme aims to help connect people to their pensions, and in the long term aspires to show comparable predicted retirement incomes and help people find regulated advice.
Pensions dashboards are expected to launch next year. Earlier this week, Maps signed an identification verification contract with Dutch provider Digidentity to help protect consumers’ sensitive information.
The prospect of having greater access to information about our pensions is attractive, according to Ipsos Mori’s research. The market research company’s study of 110 prospective users unearthed a perception of weak communication with pension providers and difficulty in obtaining information.
Dashboards were particularly appealing to those with multiple pension pots, while the value of savers’ pensions was judged to be the most important information.
The initiative is, however, more likely to struggle to get off the ground if it offers a more limited ‘find only’ service, which lists pension entitlements but not their values. Those at the early stages of saving into their pensions, and with singular pots, expressed less interest in this service.
A phased launch “is likely to significantly impact the perceived appeal and value of the service for some users”, the study found, particularly for those later on in their pension savings journey.
A ‘find and view’ offering from the start of the initiative, on the other hand, which contains accrued and forecast pension values, garnered the widest level of interest among those surveyed.
When testing the service, participants broadly found each stage to be intuitive and logical, even if they were less likely to use the dashboards next year.
Earlier this month, the Association of British Insurers warned that dashboards need to be interactive and show how changing contributions can boost income in order to appeal to younger savers.
The ABI found that almost 70 per cent of prospective users want to use the dashboards to move money from other accounts, with 65 per cent wanting to combine their pots.
The programme is currently expected to be limited to a read-only service, only allowing savers to see their pension pots in one place.
