Pensions dashboards: connection progress and process improvements

With a little over a year until the final deadline of 31 October 2026, connection to the pensions dashboards ecosystem continues to progress. Tens of millions of pension records are now connected, and with them, the foundations for dashboards are becoming stronger.

I’d like to take the opportunity to share the latest progress on connection, highlight the valuable role our industry participants have played in helping shape and improve the process, and look ahead as more pension providers and schemes prepare to connect.

Connection progress

We continue to work closely with our cohort of industry participants who are building a direct connection to the pensions dashboards ecosystem. We’ve seen considerable progress since the first of these organisations successfully completed connection in March.

As of August 2025, 13 industry participants including the State Pension have completed their connection journey. 19 in total have successfully passed through the important stage of integration testing, with the remainder moving through the process.

We were thrilled to have the Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell MP, share a progress update on connection at our recent pensions dashboards town hall event. In his opening address, the Minister announced to delegates that hundreds of pension providers and schemes have connected to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, and noted the successful connection of the State Pension.

Over 40 million pension records connected

The number of pension providers and schemes connecting to the dashboards ecosystem is of course an important measure of progress. However, to contextualise these developments, it’s helpful to consider the number of pension records connected. This helps convey the scale of coverage and provides a meaningful sense of progress.

I’m delighted to share that over 40 million pension records from workplace and personal pensions, which equate to over half of the total records, are currently connected. Tens of millions of State Pension records are also connected, boosting coverage further.

Refining the connection process

As the industry participants have moved through the connection journey, we’ve closely tracked their progress before opening the door to further organisations. This has let us examine how the process works in practice, gather valuable insights and implement changes to benefit those yet to connect.

Throughout this work, we’ve continuously learned from the experiences of our industry participants, implementing feedback loops for reporting issues and tracking their resolution. The dedicated connection team we’ve set up to manage this process has done a stellar job in capturing all feedback and ensuring resolution is reached quickly and efficiently, and I’m very grateful for their efforts. The industry insights we’ve gained, alongside what we’ve observed in practice, has helped us identify opportunities to improve.

These lessons have led to updates to guidance, supporting materials and our operational processes, all of which will make the connection journey more straightforward for the remaining organisations.

Looking ahead

The momentum we’re seeing with pension provider and scheme connection is especially important as we move into the next key phase of development: consumer testing of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard.

The more pension providers and schemes connected, the more pension records available, increasing the number of pensions that testing participants can be matched with. This makes for a more realistic and valuable user experience, helping us gather richer insights on the effectiveness of dashboards for savers.

At the same time, we’ll be working with the remaining industry participants who are yet to connect, helping them complete the journey as soon as possible. Again, the invaluable feedback from the earlier organisations has enabled us to streamline the process, helping put the end in our sights.

Pension providers and schemes should continue to connect in line with the staged timetable in guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions. Most will connect via a third-party connection provider such as an integrated service provider (ISP) or a third-party administrator.

Should trustees have concerns about not being connected in line with their ‘connect by’ date in guidance, I’d like to reiterate the message stated in our most recent progress update report. The regulators – The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority – understand this position and have reassured they will take a pragmatic approach. At the current time, both have made clear there will be no regulatory intervention for those unable to meet their ‘connect by’ date solely due to their dependence on an industry participant who has yet to connect.

Guidance and support

Comprehensive connection guidance is available on the PDP website, including how to connect via a third party and how to change connection plans. Standards for pension providers and schemes can also be found on our website, along with a range of explainer videos to accompany our guidance.

We’re also on hand to offer support. If you have a technical issue or query, you may find the answer in our support articles, or you can drop us a message directly and we’ll get back to you.

Reaching this point is a significant step, and it’s encouraging to see the momentum across the industry. We’re grateful to all the organisations and stakeholders who have worked with us to get here, and whose collaboration has been vital in shaping progress so far. With more connections on the horizon, we look forward to building on this success together as we move into the next phase.