Platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell has warned that the delayed Pensions Dashboards – a key plank of government pensions policy – are in limbo until the government signals a new timetable.
In March, Pensions Minister Laura Trott said that the Pensions Dashboards will miss the 31 August deadline this year when the first connections were due.
Ms Trott said there needs to be a “reset” to the Pensions Dashboard Programme timetable.
The pensions sector is now awaiting a new timetable to be announced amid signs that the present plan was unlikely to be realistic, with technical standards proving more complex and time-consuming to deliver.
There is no clear indication now of when the Pensions Dashboards will see the first testing with legislation needed to implement a new timetable.
Rachel Vahey, AJ Bell head of policy development, said there has been little update to the timetable from the government since March.
She said: “There has been little change to the dashboards landscape since the Ministerial statement in March, which pulled the plug on the proposed timescales, sending the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) and DWP back to the drawing board to confer.
“The PDP’s qualitative research shows people are broadly positive about Pensions Dashboards, generally seeing little or no downside to using the free service. So it’s important to keep the momentum going on this new initiative.”
She added that the delays were not helpful.
She said: “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.”
