05 September 2018
It was announced in the 2016 Budget that a Pensions Dashboard would be developed, with the expectation of being launched in 2019. It is hoped that this will allow individuals to view all their pension savings together in a single place.
However, earlier this year, it was reported that MP Esther McVey moved to scrap the Pensions Dashboard, despite hopes that it would encourage people to be more engaged with their retirement pot.
In response to Esther McVey’s comments, a petition, which has reached over 100,000 signatures, was launched calling on the government to continue to roll out the Pensions Dashboard. The petition argues that pension pots are at risk of being forgotten if the Dashboard is scrapped. As many individuals could potentially have more than 10 employers throughout their working life, there is a need for a simple way for individuals to keep track of their pension pots in one place.
Shaun Gomm, commercial director at design agency Sigma (who produced a prototype for the Pensions Dashboard) said: “The pension system in the UK remains one of the most complex to navigate in the world. Despite paying into our retirement fund for decades, millions of us have no idea how to track or properly manage our pensions; and we’re potentially losing out on thousands in misplaced pension pots.
“It has never been more timely for the government to take action on pensions – so to scrap it at this crucial stage would be ill-advised and hugely detrimental, which is to say nothing of the substantial investment in time and money that many organisations have already committed to this project in good faith.”