Pension providers are contributing £50,000 each to fund the creation of a pensions dashboard prototype, the Association of British Insurers has confirmed.
With the 17 providers signed up to the project paying the one-off fee, that brings the total contributions to £850,000.
The ABI said this money was being used to fund the building of the prototype, stressing that it would not grant contributors exclusive access to the dashboard.
While the pensions dashboard project is being overseen by Treasury, the government has opted to take a hands-off approach, leaving it to the ABI to lead the actual development.
Treasury has said it will not provide any funding, which means all the finance for the project must come from the industry.
The spokesperson added that customers were not due to get access to the dashboard until 2019, meaning there would be no immediate commercial advantage to being plugged in to the 2017 prototype.
Contrary to some reports, providers have insisted that the £50,000 is simply a contribution to the ABI-built prototype, and does not buy a place on the Treasury's independent pensions dashboard steering group, which is a separate entity.
Yvonne Braun, the ABI's director of long-term savings and protection, said: “As we have been clear from the beginning, the 17 pension companies involved in the Pensions Dashboard prototype are contributors.
"They are contributing time, expertise and the funding needed to make this ambitious project happen.
"This is a ground-breaking initiative involving the rapid development of new technologies, requiring professional project management and IT and legal expertise. The ABI’s leadership role is helping keep costs as low as possible."
Darren Philp of The People's Pension - which is both a contributor to the prototype and a member of the steering group - said the pensions dashboard would be built "for the benefit of all savers", adding that Treasury had clearly stated it would be an industry-funded initiative.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
