Dashboards drive 26% surge in Maps spend on pensions

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Dashboards drive 26% surge in Maps spend on pensions
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The Money and Pensions Service significantly increased its expenditure on its pension streams for its year to March 31 2022, a move it said was driven by its spend on the dashboards initiative.

Pension dashboards are due to go live in 2023, although Financial Conduct Authority-regulated pension providers have been given an extra two months to comply with the regulator’s pensions dashboard rules on implementation.

In the FCA’s final rules for the regulations published on November 1, the regulator said providers would have until August 31 2023 for implementation, to align with the government’s extension to a deadline on occupational pension schemes. This deadline was delayed from June 30 2023.

According to Maps' latest annual report, its spend “on both Pensions streams increased substantially in 2021-22”.

It spent £9.4mn more than it did in the prior year, representing a rise of 26 per cent. This it said, was “due to the increasing development of the Pensions Dashboard Programme and the completion of the Maps Dashboard alpha phase”. 

Excluding dashboards, its like-for-like expenditure on ‘front line pension services’ fell by £3.9mn to 93 per cent of  its 2020-21 pension freedom spend, and 76 per cent of its 2020-21 pension guidance spend. It said this is “reflective of the number of sessions delivered in both areas”.

“Maps appears to be reluctant to spell out how much delivering the pensions dashboard cost in the year to March 31 2022,” an LCP briefing note said, adding that “it seems to be around the £13.5mn mark, which if so is significantly above its budget of £9mn.  

“What is not clear is how this cost is being divided up between the pensions industry.”

Maps overall net deficit grew to £150.4mn from £139.4mn.

Alex Janiaud is deputy editor at FTAdviser's sister publication Pensions Expert