The UK’s pensions regulator is assessing how defined benefit (DB) and hybrid pension funds are preparing their data ahead of connecting to pensions dashboards, to ensure members receive accurate, up-to-date information.
With schemes required to connect to pensions dashboards by 31 October, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is urging schemes to “act now”.
The regulator’s latest initiative will target 240 private sector DB and hybrid schemes, assessing how they are preparing to meet their dashboard duties, with a particular focus on the readiness and accuracy of value data.
Insight from the exercise will help inform discussions on the timing of the launch of the MoneyHelper dashboard.
The initiative builds on previous regulatory interventions that found schemes were making “good progress” on preparing data needed to match members to their pensions.
However, TPR said preparations relating to value data were less advanced, particularly among DB and hybrid schemes. Unlike defined contribution (DC) and public service schemes, DB and hybrid schemes do not have existing obligations to issue annual benefit statements, meaning value data is more likely to be out of date.
With more than 2,000 private sector DB and hybrid schemes in scope for dashboards, TPR said it is carrying out a deeper assessment to evaluate the risk of dashboard users receiving incomplete or inaccurate information.
The regulator said pension funds will need to ensure the data showing the value of members’ pensions is recent, no older than 13 months, and accurate. Schemes must also ensure values are returned within strict timescales.
Ben Gunnee, executive director of market oversight at TPR, said: “Data readiness goes beyond matching people to their pensions. Schemes need to be ready to return the correct values to members. If schemes do not prepare this information in advance, they risk overwhelming their administration teams and, more importantly, risk providing members with incorrect information.”
He added: “We will continue to support schemes through guidance, engagement and regulatory action where necessary to ensure dashboards deliver on their promise to help people plan confidently for retirement.”
