Long delayed pension dashboards should be ready in 2026

Long-promised pensions dashboards are now unlikely to see the light of day before the second half of 2026, the Government says. 

Online tools that allow people to see all their retirement pots at a glance have been under development for years – the Government announced the project in the Budget of 2016, with the dashboard launch date mooted for 2019.

Pensions Minister Laura Trott said today that pending legislation would include a mandatory ‘connection deadline’ of 31 October 2026, although some versions of a dashboard could be available earlier.

‘The Government remains as committed as ever to making pensions dashboards a reality and we are ambitious about their delivery,’ she said.

‘I am confident that this re-appraised approach will enable us to make significant progress on delivering dashboards safely and securely, enabling consumers to take advantage of their benefits to plan for retirement.’

Trott had already announced a postponement of the dashboard since she became Pensions Minister. 

She said in March additional time was required to get pension providers and schemes connected.

The dashboard plan is to give people up-to-date, accurate information on all their pension funds in one go, so they will be better informed and equipped to make decisions about how to fund retirement.

But there has been much toing and froing over the years about making the scheme mandatary – to force pension firms reluctant to spend time and money on the project to sign up – and how to make people’s financial information secure.

There has long been concern that scammers could hack or exploit the information on dashboards to steal people’s retirement pots.

Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, welcomed today’s announcement saying: ‘This gives more time to ensure that the pension dashboard ecosystem works and is fully tested, giving schemes and members confidence. 

‘And gives more certainty that pension dashboards will happen.

‘Previously connecting dates for pension providers and schemes were set out in legislation by scheme size and type. These will be removed.

‘We look forward to seeing more details on how the staging dates set out in the guidance will work and be managed by the pension dashboard programme to ensure that scheme connection points are evenly spread to avoid the risk of being left until the last minute of 31 October 2026, which could easily lead to a capacity crunch and overwhelm the pension dashboard ecosystem.’

Claire Trott, divisional director for retirement at St. James’s Place, said: ‘Although it is disappointing that the dashboard is being yet again delayed it is more important that it is correct, not misleading and a real benefit to consumers.

‘It would be worse to launch something that doesn’t provide any benefit, or only part of what is intended, this could mean that it fails to get engagement by those who most need this resource.’

Becky O’Connor, director of public affairs at PensionBee, said: ‘This project has been beset by difficulties and delays from the get-go.

‘Meanwhile, people are losing track of their valuable pension pots and struggling to manage their retirement plans.

‘The pensions dashboards project is starting to feel like the train you wait for that’s arrival time keeps being pushed back, before it is eventually cancelled. It’s vital for the UK’s millions of pension savers that this doesn’t happen.’