A project overseen by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), collecting pensions into an easily-accessible dashboard, has reached a major milestone. MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard is a new tool being developed by Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), a government body sponsored by the DWP, that will allow Brits to easily check whether they have a nest egg building up that they weren’t even aware of.
Many workers have had multiple employers throughout their careers, and each employer may have enrolled them in a pension scheme. Each company typically has its own selected plan, sometimes making it tough to keep track of the funds contributed across employers. As a result, billions of pounds are estimated to be sitting around just waiting to be claimed. Research by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) published in 2024 suggested that as much as £31.1 billion could be lying in unclaimed, inactive, or lost pension pots. 3.3 million pension pots were considered lost at the time, at an average sum of £9,470. However, the amount any one worker has can obviously be much higher or much lower.
In a progress update report this month, the MaPS said: “Around 85% of personal and workplace pensions are now connected to the dashboards ecosystem, alongside the State Pension.
“All those providers and schemes in scope of dashboards will be able to connect by the deadline of 31 October 2026.” The dashboard is expected to launch for public use in Financial Year 2027/28, with user testing underway.
The goal is for people to be able to enter their personal information to sign in securely, and see all the pensions they’ve been enrolled on in one place, so fewer pension pots get lost.
Providers will be legally required to connect to the dashboard. This includes “all personal pension providers subject to the FCA rules and occupational pension schemes with 100 or more relevant members”.
The DWP said: “The successful delivery of pensions dashboards remains a priority for the Government. We welcome the progress our delivery partners have made as well as the continued engagement and cooperation of the pensions industry.
“We are pleased to see good progress on connection in line with DWP’s staged timetable. With 4 months to go before the statutory connection deadline, it is crucial that industry maintains this momentum.
“The Government encourages the pensions industry to continue to engage with the latest guidance and standards from DWP, MaPS, and the regulators to support successful connection.
“As testing is underway, continued adherence to these standards will ensure the dashboards service is secure, reliable, and capable of delivering a positive user experience.”
Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at investment platform AJ Bell, said: “With some real progress being made on the project, the DWP, Money and Pensions Service and the pensions industry are keen to keep up the momentum. Provided progress isn’t hindered by any serious bumps in the road we should get a full timeline for a public launch date later this year.
“Once all pension schemes have connected, and the pensions dashboard has been thoroughly tested to make sure it’s giving people the right information in the right way, the DWP can set a launch date for the public.”
Ms Vahey said this probably won’t be until midway through next year “at the earliest but there is now some light at the end of the tunnel”.
“For consumers it means they’re one step closer to having access to an ‘all in one’ view of their pensions,” she added.
“Getting your pensions sorted is one of the most valuable personal finance tasks you’re ever likely to do, but it is still really tempting to put off doing your pensions paperwork.
“Dashboards will make it much easier for people and should eventually become a tool that millions of people use to help organise their finances and, in many cases, switch pension accounts to one with better service, pricing and investment choices if they aren’t happy with the pension providers they’ve got today.”
