Just a few weeks ago there was rife speculation that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Ester McVey, was looking to scrap the pensions dashboard altogether, but in an announcement today (4 September) she made it clear she fully supports the scheme.
The highly anticipated dashboard, set to launch next year, has been plagued by delays and industry insiders feared it was likely to be dropped by the government due to the high costs to complete it and run it. Stuart Price, Partner and Actuary at Quantum Advisory, says: “Today’s pledge by McVey is very positive and obviously a step in the right direction. It will certainly settle a lot of nerves within the industry. McVey has accepted that the dashboard is the way forward, although she seems to be shunning some of the government’s responsibility and putting it down to the industry as a whole to bring the concept to fruition. I think there is only so much we can do – and we have been doing a lot! But without vital information regarding the State Pension and crucial financial support, I’m not sure how efficient the scheme will be.”
Stuart Price, Partner and Actuary at Quantum