Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London said: “This is a huge step forward. Those of us who want consumers to be able to see all of their pensions in one place had started to despair at the lack of momentum coming from government. Whilst government has been clear that it will not be delivering the dashboard or paying for it, government engagement is still vitally important. The government can help to ensure that state pensions and public service pensions are included in the dashboard and can legislate to require all private pension schemes to supply data to the dashboard. Other countries have had services of this sort for many years and it is time that the UK caught up, especially given the fragmented nature of much UK pension provision. Being able to see all of their pensions in one place will help savers and their advisers to plan ahead for retirement much more effectively in future”.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group said: “Just welcomes today’s announcement. It is pleasing to see progress being made on one of the key ‘remedies’ proposed by the FCA to encourage more competition in the retirement income market.
“By allowing “small pot” and “trivial commutation” withdrawals, our pension rules have long implied that small amounts of pension aren’t worth bothering with. However, as the trend of people having more jobs and employers continues, it is crucial that all pension pots are viewed in the context of the total income that can be generated in retirement. The Dashboard will help consumers gain an over-arching view of all of their pension savings giving them a greater understanding of the amount they need to save to guarantee a sustainable income throughout their retirement.
“We also support the ABI’s recommendations that the State Pension is included in the Dashboard. 6th October was ‘State Pension Shortfall Day’ – when the spending power of the average retired couple outstripped their annual state-provided income – reinforcing the notion that retirees will need additional sources of funding to support themselves in retirement, and so it is crucial that consumers are able to calculate their entire potential retirement income in one place especially as the State Pension will be the central element for many.
“We believe that the Pensions Dashboard will provide important support to people and remove some of the obstacles facing them when engaging with long term savings.”
Darren Philp, director of policy at The People’s Pension, said: “This is an important milestone in the development of the pensions dashboard. Government commitment to drive this forward under the leadership of DWP moves the project into the next phase. While there are still significant challenges to overcome, this is a substantial step to help bring people closer to their pensions.”
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