Staged compulsory on-boarding for pension providers is set to commence in 2023
The pensions dashboard project is a “solid idea” but has “shaky foundations”, according to Premier Pensions.
Head of administration Girish Menezes said the implementation of the project - which will allow savers to view information from multiple pensions in one place - is a "worthwhile objective" but is "fraught with risk".
According to the Pensions Dashboard Programme's (PDP) latest timetable, staged compulsory on-boarding for pension providers and the dashboard available point is scheduled to commence in 2023.
Menezes said while the idea of the dashboards is "undoubtedly good" and has garnered industry-wide support, the basic structure as it stands is "ill-conceived".
He said the infrastructural concept "is questionable", and warned: "It is not too late to change."
"In creating an additional unnecessary layer of complexity by using integrated service providers, most pension administrators will have to leverage intermediate data consolidators, rather than integrate directly with the government dashboard," he added, noting: "This creates additional cost and risk."
The PDP - set up by the Money and Pensions Service (Maps) - has said testing with volunteer dashboard providers such as Maps and a commercial provider will take place in summer 2022, while testing of around 2,000 pension members will take place at the same time, with large scale consumer testing taking place the following year.
Additionally, the programme's architecture supplier on-board and publishing of the ecosystem governance model is set to commence in the autumn, and a consultation on the regulatory framework will be published in the winter.
"The government already holds all key personal information through the tax system, as well as a secure government gateway," Menezes argued. "It would be easier for pension administrators to build on this, rather than farming the integration to an unnecessary new industry layer.
"Additionally, the government has huge ambitions to build a number of complex requirements into the initial phase of the dashboard project. I fear this could be an IT nightmare, unless it is phased appropriately.
"The proposed roll out between 2023 and 2025 to schemes with over 1,000 members involves connecting a large number of administrators to a dashboard, potentially responding to millions of queries and producing and sending out estimated retirement illustrations to every individual in real-time."
Menezes warned a "steady, structured programme" is needed, starting with a pension finder service for schemes with more than 1,000 members.
"Members logging in to the pension finder service and seeing who holds their pensions will solve 90% of the problem; being able to update their details centrally, such as a change of address, will enhance that system. Even to build this quite specific functionality by 2025, and to have tested it thoroughly, is already a mammoth task," he said.
"Coupling the multi-layered access system with the over ambitious objectives, is not the solid foundation we would have hoped, for what is essentially an excellent initiative."
