As Pensions Minister Guy Opperman confirms the government’s backing for the pensions industry’s development of a pension dashboard to help investors keep track of their retirement savings, comments come into the IFA Magazine office.
Tom McPhail, Head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “There is strong support for this initiative, which will help connect savers with their pension investments and ensure they can plan their retirement with confidence.
“The priority for the pensions industry is to build widespread coverage of the Dashboard, encouraging as many firms as possible to participate. The government’s commitment, with the planned inclusion of state pension benefits will help to develop this coverage.’
“Given the technical challenges of the Dashboard, and the demands of Brexit, it would be unrealistic to expect the government to bring forward legislation to make participation mandatory before the project has gone live Hargreaves Lansdown is committed to participating in the dashboard project and will continue to press the government to legislate at the earliest possible opportunity.’
“With the dashboard not expected to be with us until 2019, anyone who currently has multiple pensions should take the time to get an up to date valuation for each, delaying your planning even for a couple of years can put a dent in your retirement income. Often people are surprised quite how much the company pension they had from a long forgotten employer is worth.’
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group said: “Just welcomes today’s announcement. It is pleasing to see progress being made on one of the key ‘remedies’ proposed by the FCA to encourage more competition in the retirement income market.
“By allowing “small pot” and “trivial commutation” withdrawals, our pension rules have long implied that small amounts of pension aren’t worth bothering with. However, as the trend of people having more jobs and employers continues, it is crucial that all pension pots are viewed in the context of the total income that can be generated in retirement. The Dashboard will help consumers gain an over-arching view of all of their pension savings giving them a greater understanding of the amount they need to save to guarantee a sustainable income throughout their retirement.
“We also support the ABI’s recommendations that the State Pension is included in the Dashboard. 6th October was ‘State Pension Shortfall Day’ – when the spending power of the average retired couple outstripped their annual state-provided income – reinforcing the notion that retirees will need additional sources of funding to support themselves in retirement, and so it is crucial that consumers are able to calculate their entire potential retirement income in one place especially as the State Pension will be the central element for many.
“We believe that the Pensions Dashboard will provide important support to people and remove some of the obstacles facing them when engaging with long term savings.”
Managing Director Paul Pettitt of Origo said: “Origo is a keen supporter of the Pensions Dashboard project, believing it to be an important and exciting initiative for the UK consumer and help improve retirement planning, financial inclusion and consumer engagement with the pensions industry.
“We are committed to helping the industry develop the relevant technology to enable Pensions Dashboard to be live in 2019 and deliver the best outcomes for the consumer.
“Origo built a Pensions Finder Service, the engine that sits behind the dashboard screen that collects pensions information from providers and presents it back to the consumer, which was part of the Prototype Project successfully managed by the ABI.
“Currently, in conjunction with O&M Systems, a leading supplier of solutions to financial advisers, we are demonstrating to key industry stakeholders how financial advisers can access a client’s pensions dashboard through secure, GDPR-compliant delegated authority.
“We believe this functionality is key to ensuring better outcomes for consumers in enabling the adviser community to provide much needed advice.”
Graham Vidler, Director of External Affairs, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said: “The announcement that DWP will take forward the Pensions Dashboard project has the potential to reconnect millions of people with their hard-earned pension savings.
“The Minister’s support of the Pensions Dashboard is great news for savers – who will be placed at the heart of the project. The dashboard could have a revolutionary effect on the way people engage with pensions, but it needs regulation and strong governance underpinning it. This is a job for government and we are pleased DWP has been tasked with leading the project.
“PSLA research for our Hitting the Target consultation found that four out of five people (80%) felt a national retirement income target would help them plan for retirement. We believe the combination of a nationally recognised target and digital infrastructure that allows consumers to compare their savings to that target would be a powerful tool for raising the level of retirement income.
“We look forward to working closely with the DWP and other stakeholders on this exciting initiative – bringing pensions into the digital age.”
