The first release in this new series is Connection Ready Guidance which is available today alongside a ‘Call to Action’ for schemes and providers outlining the top five actions schemes need to act on now with regard to dashboards connection readiness.
The forthcoming connection guidance dates will inform the final point at which schemes are expected to ‘plug in’ to the dashboards ecosystem. But they don’t help schemes know when they need to start their preparations or how long they will take. PASA’s new materials fill this gap so schemes and administrators can plan to become ‘connection ready’ before it’s too late.
This will be followed by further supporting materials including practical tips for certain connection ready activities, checklists of key actions and outlines of connection ready decisions which must be made at a scheme level.
Kim Gubler, PASA Chair, commented: “In the absence of staging deadlines, many have deprioritized their dashboards delivery. However, there are thousands of schemes which must consider preparation and delivery of data, calculations and administrative processes as well as the technology to connect to dashboards’ Central Digital Architecture. With a finite set of resources, the industry as a whole can’t continue to delay this activity if universal connection by 31 October 2026 is to be achieved. We must do a better job of articulating the challenge and working with schemes to generate and deliver on realistic plans for being connection ready.
This new Guidance is designed to show the practical activities schemes and providers need to complete. PASA worked with DWP, MaPS and regulators to agree how this definition can best be used to support schemes in monitoring and recording their progress to ensure it’s complementary to guidance and standards which already exist. The Guidance includes a draft plan for a single scheme to achieve connection readiness.”
Maurice Titley Director at ITM, PASA Expert Partners for dashboards, said: “The simple scheme plan included in the Guidance demonstrates it may take 18 months elapsed time (or even longer) to achieve all of the elements of becoming connection ready for one scheme in isolation.
Very few schemes will have the luxury of suppliers who can focus resources solely on their delivery and industry wide capacity in key areas such as data, IT and administration practice will inevitably be a constraint. Trustees and scheme managers need to agree their specific delivery plans with their providers as soon as possible.”
Andrew Lowe, Executive Pensions Consultant at ITM, PASA Expert Partners for dashboards, said: “Our Connection Ready Guidance aims to help schemes and providers at a practical delivery level. We understand the challenges and the nuance underlying some of the connection ready activity and will aim to provide support across all elements in translating regulation and dashboards standards into pragmatic and usable guidance material.”
Lucy Stone, Dashboards Lead at The Pensions Regulator, said: “The importance of preparation cannot be overstated. We welcome this Guidance which gives practical suggestions on how administrators can support trustees in getting ready for dashboards. We urge trustees to work with administrators and others to develop a practical delivery plan and prepare in line with our checklist without delay.’
The new PASA Connection Ready Guidance for dashboards, can be found here.
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