Key figures behind the UK pensions dashboard are urging schemes to prioritise data quality as a long-term requirement if they are to meet their statutory obligations.
By 31 October 2026, all UK pension providers and pension funds in scope of the legislation must be connected to the pensions dashboard ecosystem.
The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has published guidance aimed at helping schemes, trustees, administrators and practitioners navigate the implementation process.
Connection to the dashboard began in March 2025 and has progressed at pace, with more than 60 million workplace and personal pension records now linked to the ecosystem, alongside tens of millions of state pension records.
For pension funds still progressing their connection or preparing to do so, Chris Curry, industry principal at the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP), urged them to “keep going”.
He said: “Getting your data ready is vital, including deciding your data matching approach.”
Pensions dashboards are expected to be a “transformative” tool for individuals planning for retirement. However, Lucy Stone, pensions dashboards lead at The Pensions Regulator (TPR), said schemes must go beyond technical connection if members are to benefit fully.
She said: “They need data that is accurate, up to date and digitally accessible, and must be ready to support members with their queries.”
She added that robust data is “critical” for pension funds to meet dashboard duties, enabling them to match savers to pensions and provide reliable projected retirement values.
She urged: “It is imperative to assess and improve your data in preparing for dashboards. Some schemes may have accumulated data issues over time (and it can be daunting to address these. But it is critical that you do: if you aren’t already looking at your data, you must do this without delay.”
Stone also highlighted wider operational implications, including scheme funding, transaction processing, technology adoption, member communications, and endgame strategies such as buy-out or consolidation.
She said: “Data quality is your most important strategic asset, not an operational afterthought. It is a core accountability of trustees and scheme managers.”
Stone added that schemes must take an “active role” not only in preparing data for dashboards, but in maintaining it on an ongoing basis.
In November 2025, TPR updated its guidance on scheme member data, setting out clearer expectations and best practice examples to support improved data management across dashboards and wider scheme operations.
