Progress update webinar: December 2025

Matt Jackson

Good morning, welcome. My name is Matt Jackson and I'm Head of Comms and Engagement for pensions dashboards, so work with colleagues across the Pensions Dashboards Programme and the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard programme as well as closely with our delivery partners.

I'm delighted that we've got some speakers this morning to unpack the the detail and some of the thinking from the progress update report that we published yesterday. I hope that many of you have had a chance to look at that and if you haven't, we'll be able to share it after the event.

So we have Chris Curry, who's the Programme Principal from PDP by origin, but also speaking across dashboards in recent months, reflecting the integration of our programmes.

We have Adam Gifford, who'll be speaking from the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard point of view. He's our Senior Policy and Propositions Manager.

And then we have, after Chris has given an update on private sector dashboards, we have Lucy Stone, who's joining us from The Pensions Regulator as Pensions Dashboards Business Lead.

So we're very lucky to have everyone to be able to speak and give us their points of view.

We have a session of about 45 minutes and as you may have noticed, the session is being recorded. We'll make a recording available after the event, and the other thing I should advise is that we have the Q&A function in this webinar.

So if you would like to put questions in there as we go through the initial presentations, then we can essentially start to prepare for the session that follows on from these speaking points from our guests, where I'll be able to curate as much Q&A as we can get through in the available time.

For those questions that we don't get to, then we will go through those after the event and then we will come back with responses. So depending on the level of interest, we'll make sure that we do that as promptly as we can.

So thank you very much for attending, as I say, and we'll begin with Chris Curry to give us a point of view on connection.

Chris Curry

Thanks very much, Matt. Good morning, everybody. Delighted to see so many of you here for the update on progress on the delivery of pensions dashboards in the UK. So I'd like to start off by just talking a little bit about our progress on connection and also progress towards that progress connection date of 31 October 2026. So that's the regulatory date that I'm sure as many of you know, that under the legislation all pension providers and schemes in scope must have completed connection to the dashboards ecosystem by that time.

As you can see from the numbers on the slide, I'm delighted to say that progress has been very good over the past few months in this space and we are now less than a year from that regulatory date coming into force. We have around 3/4 of workplace and personal pension records already connected to the ecosystem and as a result of that and with the plans we have in place, we're very confident that we remain on track to allow everybody to meet that regulatory deadline in 11 months' time.

But how have we got there? So as I'm sure many of you are aware, we on the Pensions Dashboards Programme, we've been working very closely with around 20 industry participants. So these are those organisations that are connecting directly into the ecosystem and helping to bring other providers and schemes on board. And I would like to say thank you very much to all of those and their help over the past few months to help us to get to the place that we're in now. And together those 20 organisations represent the vast majority of the memberships that we're going to be connecting in total to the ecosystem.

So this year has seen, as we've said, a lot of progress. Back in March, the first participants connected and since then we've had 17 more of those original 20 completing the connection process and all but one have passed through the really important part of integration testing. So we've made significant progress in that space as well.

Now you may remember that back in March of 2024, so about 18 months ago, DWP published guidance with a timetable for connection in conjunction with TPR, the FCA and and ourselves. And just as a quick reminder, both The Pensions Regulator and the FCA expect providers to demonstrate that they have had regard to the guidance when deciding their connection dates alongside the legislative date of 31 October. And a really big milestone came in April when the first provider actually connected into the ecosystem ahead of the initial 'connect by' date in that guidance.

Fast forward to now, a few months later, and we've now got over 700 providers and schemes connected. And as I mentioned, that covers more than 60 million workplace and personal pension records out of a total of about 80 million that we think we'll need to connect by 31 October. And just as importantly as that, the State Pension is connected as well and that adds tens of millions of records on to that other 60 million that we have already connected.

But I guess the connection is only the first part of the journey. What's really important then is how customers can see their information once it's connected. And to give you an update on where we are on consumer testing for the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard, I'm going to hand over to Adam.

Adam Gifford

Great, thank you, Chris, and good morning everyone. So as you all know, we have begun testing of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard, which is crucial to demonstrate that the end-to-end user experience of the service is positive, safe and meets user needs.

So from the start, prototypes and user feedback have shaped the design and development of the dashboard service. That work continues today, giving us confidence that the standards we're setting are fit for purpose. Right now, consumer testing is under way and we're slowly starting to scale up the number of people involved in that testing.

So in August, we began controlled testing of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard with a small group of industry experts. Alongside internal testing, this helped us check that data is flowing correctly on the dashboard before we opened it up more widely. This approach reflects feedback from industry and supports collaboration to deliver a positive user experience.

Now, before we talk through some of the early insights that are emerging as outlined in our published testing approach, it's worth just quickly recapping that consumer testing is happening in two phases.

So phase 1, which is currently in progress, focuses on moderated testing with a little unmoderated testing as well. And recruitment in this phase has been from workplace pension scheme staff and members of pension providers' research panels.

Phase 2, which will start once phase 1 is complete, will consist mostly of unmoderated testing along with some moderated sessions as well as some other methods as required. Participants in this phase though will be expanded to ensure that we get to a wide array of users. And we intend to recruit from pension providers, customer bases, employers, charities and specialist recruiters as well.

So let's move on to the insights so far from the first phase of testing.

We're now halfway through phase 1, having completed 2 rounds of moderated testing with 24 users across different ages, regions, genders and access needs. The results? Broadly positive, I would say. So users report being generally satisfied and feel the service meets expectations. Most found some or all of the pensions they expected, thanks to strong matching rates. However, a few saw pending or possible matches and some users weren't quite sure what that meant. And so we're now working on clearer guidance to help users understand what they need to do next.

Feedback on design has been good and trust in GOV.UK and MoneyHelper branding is relatively high. However, it is worth noting that these early users had above average pension knowledge as they were recruited primarily from the pensions and finance industry.

Therefore, while the insights are still valuable, they do need to be considered in that context. It's not all been plain sailing, though, as you'd expect. We've identified some issues, ranging from minor to more significant. MaPS is addressing some of these internally, as well as addressing some in collaboration with data providers.

Planning for rounds 3 and 4 is well under way and we'll soon share more insights publicly on progress across those two rounds.

Looking ahead, MaPS is preparing to test the 4 remaining pension types, which of course are hybrid pensions, AVCs, cash balance and collective defined contribution. We will therefore need to continue to collaborate closely with various industry groups and partners to understand how the data will come through, as well as how best to display it so that users get clear and accurate information.

To summarise then, testing is progressing well with feedback already shaping improvements, but collaboration does remain key to delivering a dashboard that works for everyone and therefore we will look forward to continuing to collaborate and make progress in 2026.

And now I'd like to pass back to Chris to update us further on private sector dashboards.

Chris Curry

Thanks very much for that update, Adam. And it's brilliant to see people actually being able to now look at their pensions through a pensions dashboard. I have to say I was very excited when I got the opportunity to look at mine, possibly more excited than I should have been. But it's great that we're now actually making progress and real people can find real pensions. It's a massive step forward.

Now, Adam's just told you about where we are on the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard. Of course, we are making provisions so there will be more than one pensions dashboard that's made available to customers going forward. So I'm just going to give you a quick update on where we are on private sector dashboards.

The Minister for Pensions confirmed back in October 2024, in fact in a written ministerial statement, that the government remains firmly committed to providing private sector pensions dashboards. At the same time, it was also announced that the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard will go live to the public before private sector dashboards come on stream, and there are a number of reasons why we think that is the right approach.

So certainly, prioritising the MoneyHelper dashboard is giving us the chance, as Adam has already shown, to learn from real customer behaviour to build confidence in the service and to make improvements before opening the door to private sector dashboards. So we need to understand how people are going to be using dashboards before we get to the private sector space.

It's also allowed us to stay focused on connecting the pension providers and schemes by that regulatory deadline of 31 October 2026, and the progress that we've made there will really help to shape the pathway, including the pathway to connection for. private sector dashboards. That doesn't mean that we have forgotten about private sector dashboards. In fact, that's very far from the case.

So we are working very closely with potential dashboard providers, the Department for Work and Pensions and the regulators to map out that pathway for development and implementation. And that's meant that during this year, we've already had an internal workshop with delivery partners, a number of industry roundtables with potential private sector dashboard providers and other interested parties from across the industry, and some pre-discovery sessions that we held which were informed by feedback from those roundtables.

We're now consolidating those insights and planning the next engagement sessions and are engaging with the Pensions Dashboards Advisory Group on this. We've got some very helpful input and feedback from them as well. And so we're looking to, and we have in fact set up, a new work stream as well to make sure that this work is taken forward at the appropriate pace going forward.

As for the crucial question of timing, as to when private sector dashboards are likely to go live, well, that will depend on how we get on with the testing for the MoneyHelper dashboard. Obviously we need to make sure for all dashboards that the service is safe, secure and reliable and so ourselves on the programme, DWP, the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard team and the regulators are monitoring the situation closely. We will continue to keep engaging with the industry on this and share updates as soon as we can, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future that timeline will become clearer.

Now I've mentioned a number of times, and Adam mentioned as well, the importance of collaboration with the industry. And so I'll just give you a quick update on how we've been engaging with you over the past few months.

But before I do that, just to say we always appreciate the time and the effort that so many of you are putting in to help make pensions dashboards become a reality in the UK. It really does make our work easier when we get all of your insights and all of your collaboration and all of your challenges back as well. So please do keep continuing to collaborate with us.

But we've done a number of different things. We are trying to make sure that we have that year-round industry engagement, partly through our sharing of updates and insights. We have a frequently asked questions newsletter as well, which is really, really helpful, hopefully to make sure everybody is aware of which questions are coming in and what the answers are to those particular questions.

Back in July, we held our second in-person pensions dashboards town hall. And I was delighted that Torsten Bell, the Minister for Pensions, was able to come along to open that town hall event and to make the announcement that DWP will give six months' notice to the industry before the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard goes live, something that's very important to make sure that the industry is ready for the launch of dashboards, as well as all of our current delivery partners.

So at that session, as well as hearing from the minister, there were also presentations from colleagues on the Pensions Dashboards Programme, from the MoneyHelper team including some early sight of some of the MoneyHelper slides, The Pensions Regulator and the FCA.

And since our last progress update report, we've also been speaking, as I'm sure many of you can attest, at many, many industry events, far too many to cover. But I think what's been brilliant this year is that we've been able to evolve what we're telling you as we go through this year. So hopefully each time you've had to sit through another presentation on pensions dashboards, there's been something new that we've been able to tell you about as we go through, because we have been making some significant progress this year, as well as updates from me.

We've also been able to give demonstrations of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard and we've also created some videos of a walkthrough that shows how that how that operates. And we've had plenty of discussions with industry representatives about how dashboards are the start of an improved digital journey as well and looking further beyond engagement, beyond pensions dashboards, which are are really important.

Looking ahead, as I said, we are really keen to maintain this collaboration. I think it's incredibly important that we do, and we will. continue to work with a number of industry-led groups, for example, the Pensions Administration Standards Association, the ABI and Pensions UK amongst many others to make sure that we're keeping the industry up to date with what's happening there as well as taking on feedback. And we're also going to build on the insights from consumer testing to make sure that dashboards are even better as well as sharing that information with the industry. So, directly connected industry participants remain key partners in shaping and improving the dashboards ecosystem.

That's enough from me about what I've been doing recently. So I'm now going to hand over to Lucy, who's going to give you an update from The Pensions Regulator.

Lucy Stone

Hi, thank you very much for having me here today. So we've heard about the progress being made towards connection and the progress being made to make sure the MoneyHelper dashboard provides a service that's useful to users and is understood by users. The third part of that equation is obviously the data that pension schemes and pension providers hold, making sure that this is accurate so that savers can find their pensions. First of all, to get a complete picture of their pensions, but also receive the right information about their benefits, including how much they're likely to get at retirement.

So because of this, TPR, The Pensions Regulator, has been very focused on data this year. We launched a media campaign earlier in the year which was specifically targeting those smaller schemes that are due to connect between 31 January 2026 and September 2026, so making sure that they understand the importance of preparing data.

We also ran an extensive piece of work reaching out to schemes who had told us through the scheme return that they either hadn't told us they'd measured their data, or the scores they reported on what their data looked like were low. So we reached out to thousands of schemes asking them what action they were taking and ensuring they were preparing for dashboards. In November we published the report on this if you want to see what the findings are, but effectively we found that progress is ongoing. However, there is variation in robustness of both the testing and what people are doing preparing for dashboards.

We are now moving to the next phase of work looking at data quality, where we are scrutinising the preparations and the controls of the largest occupational pension schemes. There are around 50 schemes in scope, which between them cover 80% of all occupational pension scheme memberships. So we are talking to each of those schemes to understand how they manage their data on an ongoing basis, but also how they're preparing for dashboards in terms of being ready to find savers in their records, so matching, but also returning recent value information or being ready to calculate it on demand where it is not recently available.

On the back of both those pieces of work, but mostly on the piece of work we did reaching out to those schemes of low or no data scores, we have updated our guidance on member data. So it used to be called 'record keeping guidance'. We've changed the name. It's now 'scheme member data guidance' because we felt that was clearer and we've put in a lot more insights, practical insights on what we expect schemes to be doing. We've also explicitly called out the importance of data and we are pushing schemes to really recognise data as the strategic asset that it is, not just for dashboards, though obviously data is critical for dashboards, but having good data is so essential to everything you need to do to run a pension scheme, and long-term strategic ambitions such as de-risking or consolidation.

The other element that we've introduced is the 6 dimensions of data quality, which government recommends. So when we ask people to look at data, they're not just looking as to whether there's something in a field, but they're also looking at whether it is valid, consistent, et cetera. So all of that is in our guidance. There's a link here and it's on our website.

The key message I want to get across to schemes on the call today is that you need to be prepared to evidence how you're maintaining data and how you're meeting our expectations. And you know, if we have to, we will use our powers.

Now looking forward, obviously the focus on data quality is going to continue. We will also be doing some more work with the schemes that aren't the 50 largest in the next year. But we are, we have now started communicating to schemes not just before they're due to connect to dashboards in line with the guidance, but also once they have connected.

So before you connect you will get a series of emails which drop at a specific point ahead of your 'connect by' date, telling you where you should be now in your journey and what actions you need to take next. We also provide a checklist so you can check progress.

Once the scheme has connected, they will receive an email confirming that we know they're connected and also reminding them of their ongoing duties and the work they should be continuing on data. If they have missed their 'connect by' date but not informed us of it, they will get another email reminding them that they have to connect by the deadline.

We will also continue working with Chris to continue to engage with those supporting schemes, whether it's administrators, integrated service providers, legal firms, professional trustee firms, to understand what they're doing to prepare and communicate our messages.

In the next year, a big focus of that conversation will be operational readiness, ie are you ready for when the dashboards are launched and people start using them and they contact you, either because they've had a possible match or the value of their benefit wasn't available on demand or because they have general questions about the benefits. So we'll be talking to the largest administrators and schemes about how they're preparing, working with Chris and the team at PDP.

Finally, because we've got this extensive industry engagement and our communications channels, we'll also be helping MaPS in disseminating the findings and these insights from user testing, the first of which Adam has talked you through today, but we want to make sure that those insights are shared as widely across industry., so we will be supporting MaPS by using our channels.

That's all I was going to touch on today and I think I'm going to now hand over to Matt, as I know we are now approaching the Q&A part of the webinar, which is everyone's favourite and that's what you really come for, is to ask us the tricky questions.

Matt Jackson

Thank you very much, Lucy. Thank you, Chris and Adam as well for giving us those briefings. It's really good to set the context and to follow on from the publication of the progress update report yesterday to sort of summarise how we've approached 2025.

What we're doing, I'm delighted to say that we've got some questions that have been submitted as we've been going through the presentations. So what I will do is just read through some of those and then I'll direct to the most relevant person I think to to pick them up. We've got about. 20 minutes to do this for, and as we said, we will be sharing the material afterwards so I can pick up that first question which has been placed, which is will the slides be shared post webinar. I think that's reasonably one for me. So yes, absolutely we'll publish those slides and the Q&A on our website. Give us a couple of days to get all that material together, but we will do that as quickly as we can.

Beyond that housekeeping question, the next one, there's a series of questions that I think we will probably turn to Chris to pick up. So the first one is, when is the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard due to launch, and then the other question for Chris is: given the connection update progress, what are your thoughts on the 6-month notice period? In this question it references DAP, it says do you think this could happen early next year and be released to the public in advance of October 2026? And the number of impacted schemes may still be pending. And another question, just to put them in a small bundle, will there be consideration to admin teams about the fact that the busy time of year is January to March when teams are helping to deliver scheme returns and via HMRC and dealing with pension increases. So a small bundle there, but the question, Chris, mainly is when do we think that we might be launching, and any thoughts on the 6-month notice period and taking into account the business periods for our stakeholders?

Chris Curry

OK, brilliant. Thanks very much, Matt. Perhaps not a surprising question, but a very important one nonetheless. So clearly the progress that we're making with connection is a big step forward and allows us to get closer to when we can make dashboards available, because one of the key considerations is that people need to find their pensions on a dashboard. So once we've got the majority connected and we've got people finding good coverage of those, then that's an important step forward.

However, there are a number of other factors that are really important to make sure they're all in place before we are ready to announce the launch of pensions dashboards, and ultimately to bear in mind that this is an announcement that the Secretary of. State for Work and Pensions will make, but we'll be feeding in plenty of information to help advise them on what to do with that.

So I think as well as coverage, which we've talked about, it's also really important that we make sure that there is a really good customer experience when they're using the MoneyHelper dashboard, that the environment is safe for them and that it's also secure, both for them in terms of what they might do afterwards, but also in terms of the technology aspect part of that as well.

So there's a number of different factors that we have to see in place before we think it will be safe for the dashboards to be launched. A lot of those will be tested as we go through the next few months with the consumer testing and other readiness testing with the industry around the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard going forward. So, when we're ready to make that announcement and when the launch will actually take place will depend a lot on what we find when we go through that consumer testing and in particular when we start to do the unmoderated testing, which will give us a much clearer indication of how people are finding the dashboard when they're using it by themselves and and under their own steam and going forward, and also how the industry is responding to that testing as we go forward. So we will have thousands of individuals going through that testing process and it'll be interesting to see how the industry is able to to cope with those as we go forward as well. That will all help inform our decision.

And the final part of the question about launching it around when admin schemes, the administrators are busiest with the scheme admin. I mean, I think we need to make sure that we are taking into account industry readiness when we decide it's the right time to launch this. We've mentioned a number of times on this call that this is a collaborative effort. It really is. And as well as making sure that the MoneyHelper dashboard is ready and fit for purpose, we also need to make sure that the industry is ready and the ongoing services that they'll need to provide around pensions dashboards are all ready to go and fully resourced as well. So we will be taking that into account in looking about when that announcement or when the recommendation to the minister is made about making that announcement and then when the actual launch happens.

Matt Jackson

Thank you very much, Chris. We'll come on to the next question, which is we think Adam, you may be better placed to answer this, is how can we as a TPA put forward testers that are members of our schemes to confirm that our end-to-end process works via our third party ISP, if you could have a go at that one, that would be much appreciated.

Adam Gifford

Yeah, absolutely. So there are two ways that schemes can look to get involved in the testing that we're doing.

So first and foremost, we have our industry expert testing of which the sort of current purpose at least is to ensure that the data flowing through from your scheme into the MoneyHelper dashboard is broadly doing what you expect and it's coming through. So that's been done in small batches so far, but we are looking in the new year to start to scale that up and broaden that out, so that we can get coverage across the ecosystem. So that's the first sort of way in which schemes can look to get involved in testing.

The second is obviously the consumer testing where we'll be getting to the the members of the scheme. And again in 2026, the plan is to then broaden that out much more widely than we've currently been doing, which has been quite focused.

So if you want to get involved in either of those two elements of testing, I would say first and foremost, if you register interest with your connection provider, your ISP, they can then pass that interest on to us and we can then get in touch and talk to you about what that might look like and how we would support you in doing that. And then secondly, or alternatively, I should say, if you contact us through the PDP website through the support section, you can register your interest via that route.

But notwithstanding that, we will be looking to provide more communication in the new year about how we are going to scale up the testing and how different parties can look to get involved in that in the new year, so look out for more information. But if you do want to register interest then you can do so either through your connection provider or through the PDP support section of the website.

Matt Jackson

Thank you, Adam. And that was going to be a point that I was going to mention at the end of the session that the support section for PDP is, because we're bringing the programmes together, that is a space where we can then field and farm questions across all different areas of the dashboards endeavour. So please think of PDP as a pan-dashboards resource if you want to get in contact with us. Thank you very much.

The next question, it's maybe Chris or Lucy, I'll go to maybe Chris, then Lucy, but let's see how we go. One of our biggest issues at the moment is all about value data having to have the same date. When we deal with AVC providers, they have different re-evaluation dates aligning with their own processes, which don't always align with our own annual renewal dates, many of which are enshrined in our clients' own scheme rules. What recommendations do the team have about how we can manage this discrepancy?

Lucy Stone

I think I'll go first on that one if that's all right, Chris. Yes, so, we're absolutely aware that there are concerns in industry about aligning these sort of illustration dates across members, typically DB and DC benefits including AVC benefits.

Matt Jackson

Thank you.

Chris Curry

Fine with me, Lucy. Thank you.

Lucy Stone

We are working across the delivery partners to really understand the cost and benefits for both users and industry of moving towards sort of standardised calculation dates, including aligning illustration dates. If necessary, the legislative framework may evolve to reflect any of these insights. But any changes proposed would obviously be subject to ministerial agreement and public consultation.

In the meantime, as a regulator, we are really focused on behaviours of breaches, which we consider pose the greatest risk to savers' ability to understand. their pensions and have a complete and accurate picture of their pensions. We'll only intervene to the extent necessary to address the harm or reduce the risk. We are particularly focused on ensuring that the information provided to savers is recent, it's clear, it's accurate and understandable. So in particular that the value information provided is calculated roughly within the last 13 months, but also that the accrued and projected values of the same benefit have the same illustration date because that's absolutely going to be key to member understanding.

So we know that schemes and trustees and scheme managers won't necessarily have been able to align all these illustration dates yet. What we would say is be sure that you've assessed the potential impact on members. Keep a clear audit trail of the steps you've taken to mitigate these negative impacts and be able to make sure that the information you're presiding is consistent with the information you provide through other routes. So hopefully that addresses your question a little bit. I don't know if you've got anything to add, Chris.

Chris Curry

I don't think so. I think that's very comprehensive, Lucy. Thank you.

Lucy Stone

Thanks.

Matt Jackson

Thank you, Lucy. There's another one which potentially touches on data quality, which I think you may be well placed as well. Will administration changes like the recent MyCSP to Capita transition cause issues in areas for dashboards and members?

Lucy Stone

So we are aware that the transfer of data from one administrator to another is a significant event for a scheme and carries risks, in particular in the transfer of data. It was one of the rationales for which people could apply to a deferral to DWP in recognition that that can cause trouble with data and that trying to connect to the dashboard at the same time could create saver risks.

So we are aware of this. We are aware that there are schemes that are going through a transition process and typically those schemes are not connecting in line with the guidance, but they are still intending to connect in line with the deadline. But they are focusing on making sure that the transitions are working well.

So it's mostly a governance point. You need to understand, you need to have good controls around your transition and ensure that it is going smoothly by working with both the ceding administrator and the receiving administrator. A key focus on that needs to be data quality, making sure that data isn't degraded as part of the transfer. But the other thing we're seeing is that actually a lot of these transitions involve a lot of data cleaning. So actually the transition process in itself is leading to data improvements.

The other part you need to be aware from a governance perspective is you do need to have regard to the guidance and the 'connect by' dates in the guidance. So when you do so, you need to document the rationale for why you've not connected in line with that guidance, you know, with reference to the transition programme and have a plan for when you will connect, working with your new administrator and the ISP as well.

Matt Jackson

Thank you, Lucy. That's really helpful, very comprehensive answer. Next one is, I would suggest for Adam, when can we expect more detail around the timings and volumes of testing in 2026 or a plan to share so that we can use this to help inform our plans and provide progress updates to our own stakeholders?

Adam Gifford

So obviously we recognise that keeping you all updated with our plans and timing for those is quite important. What I would say is that we're not looking at producing a sort of detailed plan going forward. I think what we're going to look to do is to provide iterative, regular updates on what those plans look like and how they might evolve over time.

So, somewhere in the new year, you can expect to hear more about how those plans are shaping up and what those volumes might look like.

As I say, we're not going to be producing, you know, a long look at what those volumes might look like. We've given indication of the ranges to help with some planning, but we need to remain fairly agile as we progress through, depending on what we're learning and how the testing is going. We may need to pause, accelerate, reshape, redefine things as we go. So it'll be iterative, but regular updates as we go through, so that you know what is coming in advance and can plan as we go through the the testing in 2026.

Matt Jackson

Thanks, Adam. And I think I'll just add from my own perspective with the industry engagement team that works alongside Adam, the people who've been working for PDP until this point, we're acutely aware of the importance and the value of keeping those iterative updates, delivered fresh and consulted on as quickly as possible. So that is definitely very much in mind for next year.

A more specific question, probably again for you Adam: when will we get a view on how McLeod benefits will be shown on the dashboard? Will they be shown as separate value or lumped in with the value? We'll need to work back from your presentation layer to ensure our ISP and daily file is configured correctly to accommodate this.

Adam Gifford

Well, so I guess a couple of things to say on that. So first and foremost, we are actively working on designs for McLeod, but how we display it will partly depend on the data that we get through. So it's a little bit of chicken and egg here.

From our perspective, we have been working with various industry groups and partners to start, to get a picture of how that data is going to come through, how they'd ideally like, you know, what sort of information we might need to put alongside the display to make sure that users are comprehending and getting accurate information shown to them.

So we will be looking to talk to and work with some key partners in the new year to start doing some sort of testing of those designs first and foremost before we then put those into the actual dashboard service.

In terms of the question around the values being sent through as a lump sum, again that's more of a decision I would say for the administrator to decide on how they want to send us the data and then we will display that based on what we get. But obviously as I've said, we are going to be trying to reach out to and get information from industry about how they're thinking to send it through and that will then inform and shape the design. But we are fairly, we're fairly comfortable and advanced in those designs at the moment.

So we've got a view and we'll be sharing that with certain partners in the new year to get a view, and then we'll start to share that more widely once we're more confident in our approach.

Matt Jackson

Thank you, Adam. There's two now that I'll perhaps bunch together for you, Chris. The first one is, for some of the delegates, could you just unpack a bit more about what private sector dashboards are? And then the follow up to that is: while acknowledging that we can't give clear timelines, is there any prospect of private sector dashboards being a fast follower to the MoneyHelper dashboard, or do we expect it's going to be more of a slower burn, perhaps into 2028 before the first ones are approved for use?

Chris Curry

OK, thanks very much, Matt. And a very good reminder that not everyone has spent a long time working on pensions dashboards like the hosts of this call have. So it's always good reminding that there's different levels of understanding out there.

So a private sector dashboard is one that's provided by a third party organisation, effectively not the MoneyHelper dashboard. There is scope within the legislation for other dashboards to be provided. It is an activity that will be regulated by the FCA and there will be some very strict rules around what that follows, as well as a registration process in order to go through.

They're important though because we think that they will increase the reach of dashboards, so more people will use dashboards if they come across them looking potentially for something else. So for example, if they're looking at their own scheme's data or if they're looking on a banking app or they're looking on an employer intranet, we think all of these will help drive people to looking at a pensions dashboard rather than actively going to find one when we go through.

And it's also, we think, an opportunity for there to be greater innovation and more of an opportunity for private sector dashboards to meet the needs, to help improve pensions engagement going forward as well.

So we think they're an important part of the ecosystem going forward, but for the reasons mentioned earlier, we're focusing on launching the MoneyHelper dashboard first and I think that means that there really isn't much more I can add about when the prospect is for private sector dashboards to be launched. Clearly it's dependent on the launch of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard and I think we're going to be very closely guided by what we think is in the customer and consumer interest in doing this.

So we need to look very carefully both during the consumer testing period over the next few months and then once dashboards are up and running, or the MoneyHelper dashboard is up and running, to see how people are using it, how well they are finding, how positive they're finding the experience, what they're able to do beyond that. But I would say that we are trying to make sure that we are in a position that we can get everything that needs to go on behind the scenes, so that development and that delivery timeline that we were talking about earlier, so we are ready and potential providers will be ready, as soon as we think it's it's the right time for for these to be opened up to private sector dashboards.

Matt Jackson

Thank you very much, Chris. We've got a couple of minutes left, so I'm just going to try and move through a couple of these at pace.

So there's one that I can pick up. It says, do you have a view yet on what level of comms campaign will be in place to support the public launch of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard?

I come from a comms and engagement background and we have a marketing team within MaPS who's been working on the comms campaign for which creative assets to feature in that campaign are currently going through approvals and there's a parallel financial approvals process that is being completed with government partners as I speak.

So we will see a lot more in terms of our communications, pivoting from, while not stopping, the B2B (business to business) space into the business to consumer space as we go into 2026. That will be, you'll start to see more of the public campaigning from the second half of that year. So, that is well on track and we'll be able to share more on that in the new year.

I will just pick one more, and as I said, we will pick up a few of the other issues or questions that have been raised. Maybe just one here for Adam: I just wondered what different consumer reactions have you seen when when consumers view their total ERI?

Adam Gifford

So I think so far we've seen, it's fair to say, we've seen some mixed reactions and I think probably what we need to keep in mind here is obviously, as I mentioned when I outlined the sort of insights from the first two rounds, is the nature of the individuals that have gone through the testing so far and the knowledge that they already had.

So some of those were already quite aware of what they had and therefore it wasn't necessarily a surprise to see their total ERI. For some it was a pleasant surprise and I think the inclusion of State Pension is something that catches a few people off guard still. So that that's really nice to see, and people seeing the impact that that has on their overall preparedness for retirement.

I think we've had a few instances where the data coming through has impacted how we've then been able to show that. So they've had a slightly distorted view on the basis of the data, sort of impacting our ability to show things. So, yes, we've had mixed reactions in the latest round, sort of round 3 where we've sort of got to more typical consumers. We had some more what I would sort of expect reactions of people, saying a pleasant either surprise about what they were going to have and then starting to think about what that might mean for them, is that going to be enough or not? And then we've had some who perhaps maybe thought that they might need to maybe pay in a little bit more.

So mixed reactions, but nothing unexpected so far. I think it's been, most people have said that it's been great to see that total view in one place. That's been a really helpful thing for them and saved a lot of searching for and trying to bring that together themselves, which has been really valuable overall. But as I say, once we get into the next phase of testing, we'll start to see a much greater view or a deeper view on how this is coming together and how that impacts people's onward thinking about their planning, basically. So lots to learn, but early reactions are good. But yeah, just take that into account that who we actually spoke to might not be the heart of who we need to get to.

Matt Jackson

Absolutely. Thank you, Adam. That's really interesting. Thank you for those reflections. It is with great regret to say that we have reached time for the webinar.

So as we said earlier on, thank you so much for your participation, for all the speakers and for all of your questions. Any of the ones that we haven't got to, and I can see in the list that we've got many more, we could be doing this perhaps until Christmas, we will look at those questions and we will derive and provide some answers along with the slides and the recording of this session.

It was important, and I'm grateful for Adam picking up about the support point, location rather, in the PDP website. So I would really commend doing that, and on that website as well we've been publishing materials which again are pan-dashboards. We are at the stage where we are sharing with stakeholders MHPD (MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard) products, but for now, that PDP website is the repository where we're trying to provide updates across the dashboards piece.

We also have the social media channels, so I commend those and we have a newsletter which we can email out straight to your inbox. So if you would like to sign up to that to hear what we're doing and to follow up some of these questions, we'd be delighted to add you to that circulation in the next few days.

So that's it from me, and that's it from our speakers. Thank you so much for your attendance. Hope you have a lovely day and are getting ready for a restful Christmas, and thank you for your interest in the dashboards enterprise.