Pensions providers planning own dashboards must be prepared for pre-connection audits

As the roll out of pensions dashboards gathers momentum, with updates to the government’s code of connection published last month, and the FCA pensions dashboards policy statement also published recently, RSM UK says pensions providers need to start preparing now for a pre-connection audit to ensure their dashboard is legal and compliant. 

Pensions dashboards are a government initiative which will enable all UK pension savers to see all their pension pots online in one place. The aim is to ensure UK residents don’t lose track of any of their pension savings throughout their lifetime as they change employers. 

According to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association there is currently £31.6bn sat in unclaimed pensions, meaning many are losing out on money they are entitled to. This unclaimed pot has increased in value by 60% since 2018.

The recent Corporate Adviser’s 2024 Master Trust and Group Personal Pension market report says at least 46 million defined contribution (DC) pension records, with a value of well over £ half a trillion, are due to be connected to the dashboards in just 20 weeks’ time (i.e. by April 30 2025) followed by all other pensions throughout 2025 and 2026.  

Forward-thinking providers are already developing their own commercial pensions dashboards that will link seamlessly to their secure customer portals, enabling customers to see all their pensions in one place. 

Tom Petty, risk assurance director, RSM UK, comments: “Pensions firms are keen to submit their applications to operate a Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service as soon as the FCA allows, so they need to ensure they are prepared for a statutory pre-connection dashboard audit - which they must all have completed in order to ensure their dashboard is legal and compliant. Evidence of this audit needs to be provided to the FCA as part of the authorisation process, and failure to do this will result in delays to launch.”

Under Regulation 13 of the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022, each dashboard provider must procure an independent person to audit whether the dashboard is compliant with PDP Standards, both prior to FCA authorisation and connection, and annually once launched. 

Tom Petty continued: “An independent auditor needs to understand how a firm’s dashboard operates from both a technical and operational perspective, then assess whether this meets the required standards. Where aspects are found to fall short, a plan needs to be agreed with the auditor and implemented prior to the final report going to Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Any firms that want to offer their own commercial dashboard need to be aware of the regulatory and legal requirement for an audit and start planning now.”

Case study – Moneyhub pensions dashboard

RSM UK is already working closely with Moneyhub during the design and build stage of its pensions dashboard project to ensure it will comply with all PDP Standards. This will enable Moneyhub to be ready to apply for the relevant FCA permissions to provide a dashboard as close to the FCA application portal opening as possible. 

Dan Scholey, Moneyhub’s chief commercial officer said: “The value of commercial pensions dashboards for both businesses and consumers has been proven elsewhere in Europe and the race for customers’ investment is on. It’s imperative that pensions providers that want to launch their own dashboards seek expert advice to ensure they are compliant from the outset. 

As the dashboard technology provider of choice for leading pensions firms, and due to the sheer breadth of the PDP standards, it’s important to us that we stay ahead of the curve in dashboard development. We’re working closely with RSM UK as we design and develop our dashboard and equip our clients with the requirements to be first movers in the market. Dashboards will be the most transformative tool in pensions engagement we will see for years so having the right partners in place is essential.”