2017

18 December 2017 – AE Review includes dashboard initiative

In its statutory review of the automatic enrolment policy, the DWP confirms that the government is committed to working with pension providers on pension dashboards to enable individuals to see all their retirement income and savings information in one place in a simple and consistent way.

 

11 December 2017 – Minister’s speech at Dashboard Development Day

The Pensions Minister Guy Opperman make a speech at three stakeholder sessions on DWP’s Dashboard Development Day.  He confirms that “the government is on board, consumers are at the heart of our approach, and whilst there are challenges they are surmountable”.

 

6 December 2017 – DWP head of digital is the UK’s most influential IT leader

Computer Weekly (CW) announces its eighth annual UKtech50, a definitive list of the UK IT leaders who hold the most influence over the future of the UK tech sector in the next 12 months.  Topping the 2017 list is Mayank Prakash, DWP’s Chief Digital and Information Officer.  In his interview with CW, Mayank talks about the importance of agile development, the new online state pension services and the upcoming pensions dashboard development.

 

27 November 2017 – Baby Boomers’ dashboard needs

An FT Adviser article trails the December 2017 Dunstan Thomas Baby Boomers’ Retirement Journeys research report including findings on the various ways in which UK citizens currently aged 54 to 71 envisage using pensions dashboards.

 

21 November 2017 – Elation and frustration

In a Corporate Adviser article,  ITM Executive Chairman Duncan Howorth highlights his elation and frustration at the current dashboard position, and urges no further delay.

 

15 November 2017 – Select Committee evidence

Giving evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee (WPSC) pension freedoms enquiry (watch or read), the Pensions Minister Guy Opperman states that as part of the DWP’s dashboard feasibility study, a stakeholder event will be held on 11 December.  He goes on to say we will see the dashboard “before 2020 without any shadow of a doubt”.

 

19 & 24 October 2017 – DWP Dashboard Feasibility Study

At the 2017 annual conference of the Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), the Pensions Minister Guy Opperman announces that the DWP will take lead responsibility for dashboard policy and will conduct a feasibility study.  A few days later, in the Lords Report stage of the Financial Guidance & Claims Bill, Baroness Buscombe confirms the eight aims of the feasibility study with an update due by Spring 2018.

 

12 October 2017 – Pensions Dashboard Project Report

The Pensions Dashboard Project publishes a report setting out a suite of 10 policy recommendations for Government based on a range of research evidence collected over the summer months.

 

19 August 2017 – Money Box feature

As part of the series The Death of Retirement, the pensions dashboard prototype is featured on the BBC Radio 4 Money Box Programme (at 18:50).

 

19 July 2017 – Financial Guidance & Claims Bill

In the Lords Committee stage of the Financial Guidance & Claims Bill’s passage through Parliament, Baroness Drake speaks to an amendment seeking to make the Single Financial Guidance Body responsible for a public good dashboard.  For the Government, Baroness Buscombe undertakes to come back at Report stage with a full statement on pensions dashboard governance.

 

19 July 2017 – Proven track record of helping retirement planning

In a Commons statement on the proposed rise in state pension age to 68, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions David Gauke refers to the pensions dashboard initiative as an example of the Government’s proven track record on helping people plan for their retirement.

 

12 July 2017 – FCA Interim Report

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes the interim report from its Retirement Outcomes Review.  The review included some qualitative research by Ignition House which found that citizens want an online personal financial planning portal to support their retirement planning which the report says may become a realistic option with the advent of the pension dashboard.

 

4 July 2017 – New Secretary of State’s first speech

Speaking at the ABI’s Long Term Savings Conference, in his first speech as the new, post-election Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Gauke cites the dashboard prototype project as a notable example of government and industry collaborating successfully to achieve positive outcomes for consumers.  He says such a tool is something which we’d all like to encourage.

 

4 July 2017 – Single guidance body consultation response

In its response to its consultation on creating a single financial guidance body, HM Treasury states that some consultation respondents had suggested the guidance body should have a dashboard role, such as signposting dashboards, hosting a public good dashboard, or developing governance.  But the response concluded the dashboard is at an early stage, with many policy questions outstanding.

 

21 June 2017 – Digital ID White Paper

The not-for-profit trade organisation the Open Identity Exchange (OIX) publishes a white paper following their project to test digital identity options for pensions dashboards.

 

 

8 June 2017 – General Election

The UK re-elects a Conservative Government with Democratic Unionist Party backing.

 

17 May 2017 – Interim phase announced

The ABI announces it will lead an interim phase of the pensions dashboard project, looking at consumer needs, costs & benefits for the pensions industry, end-to-end system requirements and standards for exposing pensions data to dashboards.

 

11 May 2017 – Data presentation to drive demand

In a Professional Adviser article, Shaun Gomm, Commercial Director of Sigma (who helped develop the Swedish dashboard Minpension.se), argues that it will be how dashboards present and interpret pension data that will drive demand and engagement.

 

9 May 2017 – Half of pre-2000 NI Numbers inaccurate

A Pensions Age article reports on ITM‘s analysis of over 20 million pension records which found, amongst other things, that approximately 50 per cent of workplace and group personal pensions set up before 2000 had inconsistent NI Number data.

 

8 May 2017 – Prototype roadshows continue

The five prototype demonstration roadshows continue in Birmingham and Edinburgh.

 

25 April 2017 – Easter roundup

A busy Easter period for the dashboard prototype project:

 

31 March 2017 – Consumer testing is key

The UK’s largest consumer body Which? publishes a statement in which their money expert Gareth Shaw welcomes the prototype dashboard but says, to be a success, the dashboard must be properly tested with consumers and work for all pension providers.

 

31 March 2017 – Prototype demonstrated to Ministers

The ABI announce that the prototype has been demonstrated to Ministers.  And Economic Secretary to the Treasury Simon Kirby announces that the dashboard will be showcased on 12 April 2017 at the London International FinTech Conference.

 

27 March 2017 – All singing and all dancing

Speaking to Pensions Age, PTL managing director Richard Butcher says that, to land well, the dashboard must show all of a citizen’s pensions, or risk failure if it is launched too quickly.

 

24 March 2017 – Allow a thousand flowers to bloom

Speaking at an Aviva-hosted briefing, Danish dashboard PensionsInfo head Michael Rasch said about half of Denmark’s working-age population accessed the dashboard last year, liking its “neutrality”.  However, providers are looking to use the PensionsInfo data to develop their own dashboards.  Aviva strategy and development director James Ward argued the multiple dashboard model could lead to better consumer outcomes: do you get a really great engaging dashboard by designing one dashboard or by allowing a thousand flowers to bloom and seeing which work?

 

24 March 2017 – Systems accessibility, performance and data quality

Origo Managing Director Paul Pettitt writes in a Pensions expert blog piece that, as the dashboard is coming, every pensions administrator and provider will need to think about their systems accessibility, performance and data quality.

 

23 March 2017 – Ideal home for the Mid-Life MOT?

In his final report from the independent review of State Pension age, John Cridland suggests the pensions dashboard could be an ideal home for his proposed Mid-Life MOT.  He writes that 50-somethings shouldn’t be considering their pension entitlements in isolation, but rather thinking about how employment can support their aspirations as they approach retirement and beyond. Incorporating a lifestyle diagnostic into the pensions dashboard would help people get the information they need to make informed decisions about pensions and retirement.

 

17 March 2017 – Collaboration is key

Standard Life Wrap Chief Executive David Tiller advocates in a New Model Adviser article that all providers need to get firmly behind the pensions dashboard, with Experian Head of Wealth Life & Pensions for UK & Ireland Richard Howells adding that he has seen fantastic collaboration in the dashboard prototype build.

 

16 March 2017 – Employers should engage early

In an article on the Aviva Workplace Focus website, Sarah Coles advocates that employers should engage early with the dashboard initiative so it becomes a triumphant exploitation of a brilliant opportunity.

 

15 March 2017 – Research video on key consumer concerns

Chris O’Brien, Associate Director at IFF Research explains in a 7-minute video the findings of their recent qualitative research into consumers’ feelings about the pensions dashboard concept.

 

15 March 2017 – PASA working group

The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) publishes a press release announcing the formation on an industry working group (including me!) to set minimum “dashboard ready” data standards for pension schemes.

 

14 March 2017 – Prototype demonstrated

A Corporate Adviser article reports that the prototype pensions dashboard has been shown to Government officials at HM Treasury and will be demonstrated to Ministers this month.

 

10 March 2017 – Personalisation is key

In a wide-ranging blog article, Bravura Solutions’ Business Development Manager Natanje Holt defines a number of characteristics required for dashboard success:

  • Customer segmentation is key with different user journeys for different citizens
  • State pension, and wider assets, need to be incorporated into dashboards
  • Optimisation for mobile devices is critical, now that device usage exceeds PC
  • Interactivity should be an aspiration, as has been achieved with the Swedish dashboard and is planned for the Dutch dashboard.

 

3 March 2017 – Dormant assets report

The independent Dormant Assets Commission publishes its final report, including multiple references to the opportunity to utilise the pensions dashboard to help trace lost assets.

 

1 March 2017 – Part of the UK Government’s Digital Strategy

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley includes reference to the pensions dashboard when publishing the Government’s UK Digital Strategy (see section 3. The digital sectors).

 

28 February 2017 – LISAs must be included

In an FT Adviser article, Bruce Moss, founder and strategy director of fintech firm EValue, argues that the scope of the pension dashboard project must be widened to include other investment wrappers such as the Lifetime Individual Savings Account (LISA).

 

24 February 2017 – What next, after the prototype?

A month before the prototype dashboard is due to be delivered, two of the 17 participating firms (Aviva and LV=) set out their views that dashboard scammers must be prohibited by regulation and the government needs to be crystal clear about its intentions for the next stages of the project.

 

14 February 2017 – Gateway or Verify?

Computer Weekly Editor in Chief Bryan Glick explains the internal competition within Government between the two different online identity assurance solutions Government Gateway and Gov.uk Verify.

 

8 February 2017 – The most ambitious technological pensions project in the world

In a blog article, the ABI’s Jonathon Puttick argues that it is incumbent upon the pensions industry in its widest sense to come together and help individuals prepare for retirement by harnessing the powerful technology we all hold in our pockets.

 

8 February 2017 – Another call for mandatory participation

Aegon Head of Pensions Kate Smith lists 10 wishes for the Government’s Review of Automatic Enrolment in an Actuarial Post article including that all workplace schemes are required to provide access to a pension dashboard.

 

7 February 2017 – Legislation needed soon

In a New Model Adviser article, the ABI’s Yvonne Braun is quoted as saying legislation to force schemes to participate in the dashboard should happen sooner rather than later.

 

3 February 2017 – Legislation needed by 2021

In a blog article for Pension Funds Online, PASA Chair Margaret Snowdon calls for compulsory dashboard participation (at least for defined benefit schemes) by 2021.

 

1 February 2017 – Desirable properties for the dashboard?

The People’s Pension publishes a onepager about the pensions dashboard, expressing a range of views, including that:

  • a not-for-profit body should oversee a dashboard for the public good
  • Fintech firms pay towards the public good dashboard in return for being able to white-label it
  • Implementation should be staged, moving from the state pension and DCs pot, to DB pensions later, within a published timetable and with participation becoming mandatory for all schemes
  • Funding, governance and data protection issues require regulation.

 

1 February 2017 – Failure is not an option

In a strong blog article, Bravura Solutions’ Marketing Manager Freddie Findlater reiterates a number of key priorities for the dashboard development:

  • Success will be judged on getting complete industry-wide support by 2019
  • A clear vision and careful planning are key
  • No project decisions should be taken without a thorough consultation with savers
  • State pension needs to be built into any dashboard the industry develops
  • The design needs to be sufficiently open to allow future inclusion of other products.

And finally, Freddie opines that the whole industry must get fully behind the dashboard, and the technology underpinning it, as failure is simply not an option: the pensions industry cannot afford to squander this chance.

 

26 January 2017 – Who pays for the dashboard?

In a blog article, Altus Director Ben Cocks outlines different funding model options for the pensions dashboard, saying that the commercial debate must not be allowed to get lost in the technology noise.