Progress to date
There has been some positive progress. In March, the Pensions Dashboard Project reported good feedback after the prototype demonstrations, which was hailed as a success by the ABI.
Paul Pettitt, managing director of Origo, said at the time the prototype had been received with a “wave of enthusiasm”.
He said: “The prototype successfully proved the front-end technology and gives us confidence this technology can be in place well before 2019.
“However, it is recognised some parts of the pensions sector have a lot to do to make themselves dashboard-ready.”
So far, the Pensions Dashboard Prototype Project, which was launched in September 2016 by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has provided demonstrations on how it will work to the public, in April, as part of FinTech Week.
In April, HM Treasury hosted a TechSprint event together with the Association of British Insurers and Aviva. Over a 24-hour period, developers and pension experts from more than 20 technology firms were competing to develop and display the potential applications the prototype dashboard system could unlock for consumers.
The Department for Work and Pensions also provided resources to enable the State Pension to be incorporated in future dashboards.
According to Mr Brown: “The successful launch of the prototype shows how this system can be developed and implemented into the daily lives of advisers and individuals.”
Duncan Howorth, chairman of data specialist ITM, comments: “The pensions industry is no stranger to coping with change, which should stand it in good stead to get Dashboard ready, while the industry collaboration that has gone into the project so far certainly shows willing.”
There is also a one-stop-shop website, https://pensionsdashboardproject.uk/ which caters to both individual investors and to the pensions industry who want to see how the dashboard may work.
From May, the ABI has been leading an interim phase of the dashboard, to maintain the momentum.
There is still a lot to do, not just in terms of the technology, but also the need to understand consumer needs in detail, the costs and benefits for all parts of the industry, and to develop further standards for how a future service would be delivered.
Fiona Tait, technical director for Intelligent Pensions, accedes there is “a lot of work to be done”, but adds: “The progress to date is encouraging.
“We now have something concrete to look at, even if it is only a prototype, and the assurance that the project is feasible, at least in terms of the necessary data links.”
