Field warns dashboard could increase pension scams

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Field warns dashboard could increase pension scams

Independent Labour MP Frank Field has warned the government without appropriate regulation, there is a risk that a pension dashboard could make it easier for consumers to be scammed.

In a letter to pensions minister Guy Opperman, the chairman of the Work and Pensions select committee warned to avoid consumers falling victims of scams of bad practice, "data security mechanisms and regulatory protection must be in place before the dashboard goes live".

Mr Field is due to have a meeting with industry representatives, which will need clear commitments from the government in order to kick off the project, he said.

According to regulatory figures, savers lost an average of £91,000 each last year due to pension scams.

The pension dashboard is supposed to launch in 2019 as an initiative to allow savers to see information on all their retirement savings in one place.

FTAdviser reported on Friday that Mr Opperman is having an industry-wide meeting about the project today (December 3) in Parliament.

In September, the government appeared to backtrack saying it would let the industry take lead on the project as it shied away from committing to force providers to submit client data.

In the Budget delivered in October, it was revealed the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) would launch a consultation on the pension dashboard this year and would provide £5m for the project in 2019 in 2020.

According to media reports, the consultation about the project will be launched later today.

So far the DWP has spent about £100,000 on the dashboard feasibility study, which was originally tabled to be published in March.

Mr Field said there was a need for legislation to require firms to provide access to customer data.

"Without compulsion, there will be no level playing field and not all firms will choose to provide data," he noted.

Mr Field also stressed that the government had "a clear role" to play in providing a secure authentication mechanism to verify the identity of customers, along the lines of the government’s Verify service.

Finally, he noted that independent governance was "crucial for ensuring that the dashboard works for customers and can command their confidence".

This might involve a board with a mix of consumer and industry representation, he added.

maria.espadinha@ft.com