On the go: Testing of pension schemes and providers' ability to meet savers' requests for information about their benefits has uncovered a litany of failings.
Twelve volunteers were asked by consumer finance website Which? Money to attempt to track down information on their pensions entitlements, with a range of problems revealed.
The findings came amid renewed warnings that schemes and administrators will have to improve the quality of the data they hold and levels of automation to comply with the pensions dashboards, currently under development and supported by the pension schemes bill.
Among the problems faced by consumers were missing information on areas including charges and investment strategy, missing contributions and incorrect statements. One scheme told a member it would take up to 40 days to provide information on the saver's entitlements under the plan.
Steve Webb, a partner at pensions consultancy LCP, said it was "no surprise" that members were unable to see a holistic picture of their retirement finances, given the many delays to the dashboards project, which was first proposed by government in the 2016 Budget.
“Delays to the legislation due to last year’s General Election and the practicalities of bringing all the necessary data onto the Dashboard could mean that workers trying to understand their pensions will continue to be in the dark for some time,” he said.
Scheme and administrator efforts to achieve compliance with the dashboards are likely to require significant investment in data cleansing and automated processes. The Department for Work and Pensions itself estimated that the new project will cost providers £774m in the first year of compliance, making it by far the most costly reform announced in the pensions bill.
Initial estimates suggest that only six in 10 pensions will be available on the interfaces when they launch, despite the legal compulsion to supply data championed by pension and financial wellbeing minister Guy Opperman.
A recent Pensions Expert interview with leading administrator Paul Sturgess suggested those working on the project are "constrained by their environment", with compliance for DB schemes still a major sticking point.
The House of Lords has also weighed in on the subject in debates over the pension scheme bill, with peers on both sides of the political divide arguing that the launch of commercial dashboards alongside a public service will be confusing for savers. However, no proposed amendments to the bill have been carried.
Gregg McClymont, director of policy at The People’s Pension said: “The very real concerns around consumer protection must be addressed before a timetable for the Pensions Dashboard is announced. The Government’s own research showed that there was strong public support for a single, non-commercial dashboard first, with feedback highlighting the need for having a secure, safe space to view those pensions free of commercial sales pitches.”
