As large pensions providers begin connecting to the pensions dashboard, RSM UK says clear consistent communication will be crucial to its success, and is calling on government to take the lead on communicating the dashboards programme in an engaging way.
Andrew Aston, pensions audit partner, RSM UK said: “There has been a lot of collaborative industry effort to get to this point, and it is wonderful to hear of the first connections to the digital infrastructure, but the success or failure of pensions dashboards will rest heavily on clearly communicating and resonating dashboards as a benefit to consumers. As far as I can tell, the plan for this appears to be heavily reliant on the industry at present, with no focused messaging yet coming from government to the wider public, despite this being a government led initiative. Maybe this will follow in 2026 when the MoneyHelper dashboard is closer to arrival, but I worry that this may be too late.
“The pensions dashboard is probably the most significant change to pensions for consumers since auto enrolment, yet many people are unaware of it. While there is much communication taking place between regulators, pensions providers and industry bodies, it appears the pensions industry is in danger of only talking to itself, with consumers who will ultimately benefit from dashboards, in the dark.
“We know that public understanding of, and engagement with pensions is low, so we’d like to see the government invest in a coordinated communications campaign that improves financial literacy by targeting pensions savers in an engaging way now. Without this, pensions dashboards risk becoming an expensive white elephant that nobody uses, which would be catastrophic.
“While the Pensions Dashboards Operators Coalition has been established, this is a collaborative industry attempt to harmonise consistent messaging for those organisations that are looking to offer commercial dashboards in the future. We’d like to see the government invest and embark now on a central communications campaign, ensuring clear coherent messages for end users that improves their financial literacy and understanding of their own retirement goals.
“As the UK population is living longer, saving adequately is essential to ensure people can enjoy a better standard of living in retirement. This is not only good for individuals, but also benefits the overall economy.”
