Commenting on the government’s response to the pensions dashboard project (1), Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings & Retirement at Aviva said: “We need the pensions dashboard because we need to bring pensions out of the digital stone age. By doing so, the potential for savers is enormous. Official figures (2) report that just 7% of us use the internet to manage our investments such as pensions, compared to 69% for banking. Aviva has been behind the dashboard since day one. It won’t be easy, but the achievement of great things never is.
With the government now fully committed, and with a sensible route map to success, all must now move forward with confidence, purpose and ambition.”
1.Governments Response
2. Official Figures
Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon comments: “The benefits of the pensions dashboards initiative has never been in doubt but the confidence that it would be delivered has stalled on more than one occasion.
“We are delighted to finally see some commitment to taking the next steps in making the pensions dashboards a reality. All customers will, in time, be able to benefit from modern online communications and tools.
“There’s a lot of work that will be required by providers to ensure scheme information is accurate, secure and available within the suggested 3 to 4 year window. A phased approach for schemes releasing data to dashboards comes with its challenges, as it risks people being unable to find all their pensions from the start. But starting small with basic information and growing to provide more complex information looks like the right solution.
“While it’s great to get confirmation that the state pension will be included on the pensions dashboards, it’s concerning that there is no timescale or deadline being set for this being delivered. For many people the state pension forms the core of their retirement plans and is required to for the pensions dashboards to provide the fullest and most accurate account of someone’s pension savings.
“We will be engaging with the SFGB at the earliest opportunity.”
Helen Morrissey, pension specialist at Royal London, said: “After years of talk about the Pension Dashboard we need to ensure that what is delivered meets people’s expectations from the start. If done properly the dashboard will give people a full understanding of what they have saved. If it is rushed, or we don’t have all interested parties on board from the beginning, there is a risk that we will not be able to deliver something meaningful or credible and the opportunity to engage people will be lost. In addition, the government’s plan to provide a link to state pension is simply not good enough - pressure needs to be put on HMRC to get the state pension data integrated from day one if the dashboard is to work. The opportunity presented by the dashboard is too important to be lost - we must get it right first time.”
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