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What is the pensions dashboard?

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The average UK citizen has an estimated eleven jobs throughout their working life. That means eleven pension pots and the potential for a lot of financial admin later in life. We discuss why the pensions dashboard could make life a lot easier for all of us.

What is the pensions dashboard?

Many people find that when they retire, they have to scramble to find paperwork from jobs held decades ago to access their pension contributions.

The pensions dashboard is a prototype system that reports on all of your various pension pots in one place. As a result, people can keep track of their earnings throughout their working life. This will give people the opportunity to make better financial decisions based on their savings.

Why do I need one?

Currently, consumers receive updates on their pension via annual reports or access to a web portal. However, a change of address or lost password could mean that they are locked out of their own pension, and could lead to it being forgotten.

According to recent research, more than two million pension pots are “lost” by consumers, leaving £19m unclaimed. This may be due to auto-enrolment, which ensures that contributions are made for workers into a pension of their employer’s choice.

How do I access my pensions dashboard?

As your pension pots are held by different companies, you will need to approve access so that the government website can compile them. Head to gov.uk/verify to verify your identity. Please ensure that it is the official government website if you are clicking through from a search engine.

How will it help me?

Many people do not know exactly how much they have in their pension pot until they retire. With the big picture in front of them on a dashboard, they can make better-informed decisions about unlocking and transferring pensions. As a result, it may reduce the number of pension scams.

Many people who are convinced by third parties to transfer their pension pot into unsuitable schemes trust that the adviser has all of their pension details. However, in many cases, they do not. The dashboard will allow consumers to identify red flags and know which questions to ask.

If you have been convinced to unlock your pension or transfer into a high-risk scheme, please get in touch. Our experts can help you secure your pension pot.