A cost benefit analysis examining what the pensions dashboard will mean for the wider industry will be at the centre of the ABI-led next phase of the project, announced today.
This interim phase of the pensions dashboard project will also comprise research into customer needs and establishing what features people are likely to find most useful in a dashboard, the requirements and costs for a secure end-to-end service between data providers and data consumers and the further development of technical data standards.
The setting of standards will be carried out in conjunction with the Pensions Administration Standards Association (Pasa), which will be involved in agreeing a Code of Conduct in line with requirements from The Pensions Regulator.
The project to develop a prototype, which the ABI has managed on behalf of HM Treasury, comes to a close at the end of May.
All of the firms currently contributing to the project will start fresh work on these issues after the General Election in June.
The Government’s objective is for the service to be available to consumers by 2019, and for it to be offered by a range of different organisations rather than by a single, central service.
No further funding will be required from participating firms at this time thanks to the size of contributions made so far.
ABI director of long-term savings and protection policy Yvonne Braun says: “Creating the infrastructure to offer dashboards is a critical project for the pensions sector and has the potential to revolutionise how people interact with their pension savings. The project to develop a prototype Pensions Dashboard has shown the technological challenges can be overcome, and now the project contributors are keen to move on to the next important phases of the project.”
Pasa chair Margaret Snowdon says: “The success of the dashboard prototype and its enthusiastic reception means we need to press forward with the next phase. Trustees, providers and administrators have been asking what they need to do to be ready. Clear, workable data standards specific to dashboard readiness will help.”
Now: Pensions director of policy Adrian Boulding says: “In today’s digitally connected world it should be a basic right for everyone to go to a Pensions dashboard and see all the value of all their pension savings in one place”
“The Conservatives planned new Data Protection Bill would be an ideal vehicle for the next Government to make this happen and we would expect the concept to have cross party support”
PLSA deputy director, DC Nigel Peaple says: “The decision by the Pensions Dashboard industry group to maintain momentum over the General Election period makes good sense. It is important to identify the needs of savers and costs to the pensions sector before taking the project further forward.”