“But starting small with basic information and growing to provide more complex information looks like the right solution.”
Whether they have DB, DC or state pension schemes, clients will – eventually – see on their dashboard what they have saved so far, plus an estimate of what this may be worth in future.
Presenting this information coherently and conveniently to customers will require a system that sends automated messages to more than 200 pension providers and administrators, which collates responses and sends them back to the various websites hosting a dashboard.
This is the Pensions Tracing Service, one of the crucial elements that retrieves an individual’s pension information in an instant.
It is likely the data used to retrieve information will include national insurance and dates of birth, so one of the steering group’s critical challenges will be ensuring the channels carrying that data are secure.
There is also perhaps a question around who will ensure the information is constantly kept up to date. Ultimately, there are enough evangelists behind the project to make it work.
David Woollett, head of customer strategy and oversight at Phoenix, calls it “a real game-changer for customers and their engagement with pensions”, adding, “in time, this could even see the end of the industry-wide issue of lost pension pots”.
Key points
- The DWP has confirmed that work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd had given the green light on the dashboard project
- Doubts exist about the amount of information available on the dashboards
- The system will need to send automated messages to pensions providers
Marcel Le Gouais is a freelance journalist
