The U.K.'s Department for Work and Pensions said it will facilitate the launch of an online data tool that will help participants access all of their retirement savings information in a single place, known as the dashboard, following a consultation.
DWP said it will help create legislation to permit commercial providers to bring dashboards to the U.K. savings market. Within three to four years and when infrastructure and consumer protections are in place, pension funds should be ready to provide information to plan participants via the dashboards, DWP added in a consultation response published Thursday,.
A dashboard industry delivery group, established by the new Single Financial Guidance Body, will oversee the process of creating the dashboards, which will incorporate all retirement information, including personal and workplace savings. The SFGB will also lead work on a non-commercial dashboard, DWP said.
The U.K. retirement industry welcomed the outcome of the consultation.
"We welcome the government's commitment to a single pension finder service that's free from commercial interest, and support the decision to ensure the information presented and displayed by the public dashboard will be mirrored on any commercial dashboards in the initial phase," said Gregg McClymont, director of policy at The People's Pension, West Sussex, England, a £5 billion ($6.5 billion) DC multiemployer plan sponsored by B&CE, said in an emailed comment. "This will help savers answer the question our members often ask: 'What savings have I got and where are they?'"
Adrian Boulding, director of policy at the £600 million NOW: Pensions, London, said in a separate emailed comment: "The pensions dashboard has the potential to fundamentally change the way people think, feel and interact with their pension savings. But simply providing a window to view savings isn't enough. To tackle the growing challenge of small pension pots, the dashboard needs to be built with the functionality to allow savers to easily consolidate their smallest pots with a simple 'drag and drop.'"
