The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today set out the critical role regulated pension providers must play in helping to launch the Government’s Pensions Dashboards initiative, which aims to empower savers to engage with their pensions.
Pensions Dashboards will enable consumers to find and view all their pension savings, including State, workplace and personal, in one place, by bringing together data to show how much they have saved and the projected values of their pensions at retirement.
The FCA’s proposals require pension providers to be ready to receive requests to find pensions and search records for data matches, as well as supply specified information for consumers to view on their chosen dashboard.
The FCA is inviting feedback on its proposals by 8 April 2022. The feedback will inform its ongoing work to support Pensions Dashboards, as well as the final rules it intends to confirm in the Autumn.
Later this year, the FCA will separately consult on the regulatory framework for the operators of qualifying pensions dashboard services (QPDS). The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWPs’) current consultation specifies the criteria a dashboard service must meet to become a QPDS.
Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets at the FCA, said:
'We are one of many organisations involved in making the Pensions Dashboards a reality, and we are working closely with the Government and others in support of their rollout. We hope that the Dashboards are successful in making it easier for consumers to access and engage more pro-actively with their pensions and support decision making on retirement planning.'