Pensions dashboards are being introduced to increase engagement and improve the user experience between pensions schemes and members.
Individuals will be able to view all their pensions information in one place, increasing accessibility and re-connecting people with lost pensions pots. Having this information in an accessible place will enable individuals to help better prepare and plan financially for their retirement.
The PDP (Pensions Dashboards Programme) is being delivered by the Money and Pension Service (MaPS) working closely with the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions), industry and regulators to make dashboards a success.
Heywood has been a member of the software provider's working group since 2020 and have been able to supply feedback and influence data standards, definitions and what key data items should be used to match members to their schemes.
Following the start-up stage, Heywood was announced as an alpha participant in the Pensions Dashboards Programme’s test phase, and we are working closely with the programme to bring our solutions to life.
UK pensions providers are compelled by legislation (the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022) to connect to pensions dashboards by their staging date deadline.
As of January 2026, DAP has not been announced, but with most schemes now connected, the government is expected to confirm timing in 2026.
Read more: When is the Dashboard Availability Point?
The connection deadline for all schemes is 31 October 2026. Most large schemes have already connected or are in the process of connecting. The government has not yet announced when dashboards will be available to the public (Dashboards Availability Point), though this is expected in late 2026 or early 2027.
All schemes must connect by 31 October 2026. Most large master trusts and occupational schemes have already met their connection dates, with smaller schemes connecting throughout 2026.
To connect to pensions dashboards, you need a digital interface in place that adheres to MaPS (Money and Pensions Service) standards. Many pensions scheme providers are choosing to go down the route of an Integrated Service Provider (ISP), whereby a third-party connects you to pensions dashboards via their ISP connection, saving schemes valuable time, and mitigating much of the risk of doing it yourself too.
Read more: Find out more about our ISP solution
An ISP, in the context of Pensions Dashboards, is a third-party organization that acts as a bridge between your pension scheme and the Pensions Dashboards infrastructure. It plays a crucial role in ensuring your scheme is connected and compliant with the regulations.
Here's what an ISP can do for your pension scheme:
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will regulate pensions providers compliance in providing data to individuals via dashboards.
Pensions dashboards staging dates refer to the phased timeline for different types and sizes of pension providers and schemes to connect to the central digital architecture of the Pensions Dashboards Programme.
The government issued guidance in 2024 setting out connection dates based on scheme size and type. Most large master trusts and occupational schemes with 20,000+ members were expected to connect by April 2025, with smaller schemes following throughout 2025 and 2026.
The final connection deadline for all schemes is 31 October 2026. By January 2026, most large schemes have already connected or are in the process of connecting, with smaller schemes continuing to connect throughout the year.
When an individual accesses the pensions dashboards, quite simply, they will request to see their pensions information.
Once identity is verified, a pension finder service will send a ‘Find’ request to all pension's schemes. If any scheme has a match, it will notify the system, and pending individual consent, the pension scheme will send the information to the dashboard, where the individual will then be able to view it.
Information shared with pensions dashboards can be broken down into three categories – mandatory, conditional, and optional data.
If a member does not get a match within the pensions dashboards system, and know they have a pension with a provider, there may be an issue with data quality. Scheme providers need to ensure their data is as accurate as possible to return successful matches. It could be that a member has changed name or moved address.
Individuals who do not get a match will likely contact pensions schemes to query their pension information if they do not get a match via the dashboard – this could lead to an increased administration workload for providers, meaning it is imperative that schemes prioritise ongoing data accuracy and validation.
More information on matching conventions can be found here: PASA Data Matching Convention Guidance
A possible match occurs when a dashboard user's details partially align with a scheme record but aren't sufficient to confirm an exact match. Schemes have processes in place to resolve these matches, either manually or through automated tools like Heywood's Possible Match Resolver.
The government and MaPS have published design standards and examples. Visit the Pensions Dashboards Programme website to see the latest interface guidelines.
Validating your member data can be done via a data cleansing exercise. This will ensure that scheme common data is correct and when applied via a business-as-usual service (BAU), remains correct. A quality data cleansing service will append, clean, and enhance name, date of birth, email addresses and phone numbers, including mobile phones. These data points cover Pensions Regulator (TPR) Common Data, Dashboard “Find” data and digital communication data.
Read more: Heywood's Dashboard data readiness checklist