The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) urged providers to continue with progress, despite the delays to implementation, although it confirmed it is working on a new timetable with government and regulators.
In its seventh update, the PDP principal Chris Curry said it was important that the industry continues preparing for pensions dashboard so momentum is not lost during the programme’s ‘reset’.
In March a written statement from the Department of Work and Pensions said that due to delays in delivery the legislative timetable for when schemes must connect to the dashboards architecture will need to be amended. Further details are expected before the summer recess.
The PDP also published qualitative research that showed consumers were broadly positive about pensions dashboards, seeing little or no downside to the service.
However the update gave little in the way of details on how the new legislative framework or timetable was progressing, beyond commenting that there was a “spirit of co-operation” between government, regulators and the industry.
AJ Bell head of policy development Rachel Vahey says: “There has been little change to the dashboards landscape since the Ministerial statement in March pulled the plug on proposed timescales, sending the PDP and DWP back to the drawing board to confer.
“We are now playing a waiting game. The Pensions Minister is due to give an update to Parliament before the summer recess, and, although this is not guaranteed, it would be good if that set new timescales for connecting to and launching the dashboards.
“Without this political buy-in, there is a risk that the general election may delay plans again, leaving pension savers waiting even longer without an easy way of checking their overall pension provision.”