Consumer group Which has asked Chancellor Philip Hammond to set out a clear timetable for the delivery of the pension dashboard by 2019 in the Autumn Budget due on Wednesday (22 November).
In a document sent to the Chancellor, Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which, said that the government should “require pension schemes to provide comprehensive data, including information on fees and charges, in a standard format, and set out a phased approach for ensuring all schemes participate”.
The consumer group is also suggesting that the pension dashboard providers should be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The plan behind the pension dashboard is to create the technology to enable savers to see all of their retirement pots in one place at the same time, giving them a greater awareness of their assets and how to plan for their retirement.
The consumer group argued that a “focus on achieving the widest possible coverage in the quickest possible time” is critical to the project.
It said: “Just as consumers are entitled to a written statement, there should be an entitlement for consumers to be able to access their pension data in an electronic format.”
Which is also encouraging the government to “signal its intention that a pensions dashboard will be hosted on the website of the new Single Financial Guidance Body”.
Such measure “would ensure all consumers would be able to access the dashboard and would also ensure that at least one version of the dashboard could go live in 2019”.
The SFGB will merge Pension Wise, The Pensions Advisory Service and The Money Advice Service, and is expected to be up and running next year.
Nevertheless, the consumer group is also advocating that commercial organisations and existing pension schemes “should also be allowed to establish and host a pensions dashboard”.
This would be “subject to the introduction of a new regulated activity, consistency in the information contained on the dashboard and the calculation of outputs, and effective regulation and supervision by the FCA”.
It said: “The government should therefore stipulate that providing a dashboard will be a regulated activity, and require the FCA to consult on the regulatory framework of dashboard providers, including clear conduct standards and a duty for dashboard providers and pension schemes”.
Guy Opperman, minister for pensions and financial inclusion, guaranteed on 15 November the pensions dashboard will be launched before 2020, “without a shadow of a doubt”.
During a hearing on the pension freedoms inquiry set up by the Work and Pensions Committee, Mr Opperman said that “the objective is to aim for May 2019”.
Last month, after the DWP took over the lead in this project from HM Treasury, Mr Opperman announced that a feasibility study on the pension dashboard will be presented in the Spring.
In the meantime, the DWP has invited all relevant stakeholders for a discussion on the project on 11 December.
Earlier in October, a project group, managed by the Association of British Insurers and including 16 industry providers and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), set out its recommendations for what should happen next with the pension dashboard, calling for legislation, a timetable and a non-commercial platform.
