Laura Trott, the Pensions Minister, has announced that the connection deadline for the pensions dashboard programme is to be delayed to October 31, 2026, for all schemes.
The draft Pensions Dashboards (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were published on June 8, 2023. The existing dashboard regulations include a staging timetable setting out the implementation of the dashboard duties for the largest schemes first, with the staging dates dependent on a scheme's total number of "relevant members" (that is, active, deferred and pension credit members, but not pensioners).
The draft Regulations will introduce a single "connection deadline" of October 31, 2026, for all occupational pension schemes with 100 or more relevant members at the scheme year end between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. Schemes will be able to request a 12-month extension to this deadline but only under narrow circumstances. The "dashboards available point" (the date from which pensions dashboards will be available for the public to use) could be earlier than this.
The Pensions Minister also confirmed that the staging timetable will be set out in guidance on which the Government will collaborate with industry this year. The draft Regulations allow the Government to issue connection guidance either separately or jointly with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) or the Regulator. The updated guidance is expected to be published shortly.
There have been criticisms that the omission of new staging deadlines from the draft Regulations gives rise to uncertainty. There is also concern that guidance-based staging dates which will not be published until a later date may result in some schemes losing momentum and deferring taking the necessary preparatory action.
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