“Hundreds” of pension providers and schemes with 20 million pension records, as well as the UK state pension, are now connected to the pensions dashboard ecosystem, according to Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) chief executive officer Oliver Morley.
The Pensions Dashboard in the UK is a digital service being developed by MaPS through the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP), and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
It is designed to let individuals view all their pension information – including workplace, personal, and eventually state pension – in one place, to support better retirement planning. Unlike dashboards in several EU countries, which are more advanced and often offer real-time data, projections, and cross-border portability, the UK Pensions Dashboard is for information only and does not allow transactions.
According to guidance published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the majority of large pension funds with 20,000 or more members had until 30 June 2025 to connect to the dashboard, with the connection deadline for large schemes set between 30 April 2025 and 30 November 2025.
For medium-sized funds with between 750 and 999 members, the connection deadline was set for 31 January 2026, but this connection deadline varies between 31 January 2026 and 30 September 2026, depending on the scheme type and number of members.
The guidance is expected to help smooth the process of connecting approximately 3,000 pension schemes and providers in scope by the connection deadline of 31 October 2026.
At the MaPS’s pensions dashboard town hall held at the beginning of the month, Morley shared that “hundreds” of pension providers and funds with 20 million pension records, as well as the state pension, were now connected to the pensions dashboard ecosystem.
Connections
Legal & General was the first pension provider in the UK to complete the connection to the dashboard ecosystem earlier in April. The connection was in line with the staged timeline set by DPW, which shows that master trusts that provide money purchase benefits only, with more than 20,000 or more members, had until 30 April 2025 to connect.
At the time, the PDP acknowledged that some pension funds would not meet the end-April deadline, but the FCA and TPR “have provided reassurance they will take a pragmatic approach” and there will be no regulatory intervention at the current time for pension providers who are unable to meet their ‘connect by’ dates.
Since then, a number of providers have announced their connection.
At the end of May, iPensions Group announced it had completed integration with Origo Dashboard Connector “ahead of schedule”. A,lso in May, Fidelity said it had successfully connected 85% of its clients’ data to the dashboard so far.
Pensions consultancy Isio also connected its first pension scheme to the Pensions Dashboard ecosystem in May. At the time, it urged trustees to think beyond compliance and use the dashboard rollout as a springboard for broader transformation.
It also warned that dashboards will likely lead to a surge in member questions, from undersaving concerns to confusion about multiple pension entitlements, urging pension funds to be prepared to respond.
In response to this, Isio said it is developing tools to help trustees and employers communicate the benefits of dashboards to members, fostering engagement and financial literacy.
Towards the end of June, pensions consultancy LCP announced the connection of its first pension administration client to the dashboard ecosystem, in line with their connect by date. LCP has also urged trustees not to overlook the important ongoing work that follows beyond connection.
In July, XPS announced it had connected over 600,000 members and more than 20 pension funds to the dashboard ecosystem in the last three months.
NEST, which has more than 13 million members, and Smart Pension, with 1.5 million members, also announced their connection to the Pensions Dashboard this month.
Standard Life has also confirmed it has connected to the dashboard. IPE has also contacted NOW: Pensions and The People’s Pension for comment.
At the MaPS town hall earlier this month, UK pensions minister Torsten Bell reiterated his commitment to private sector dashboards and confirmed a six months’ notice to launch the state-provided MoneyHelper dashboard.
The testing for the dashboard is due to start this summer.
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