14 March 2022
Sackers has submitted their response on the pension’s dashboard consultation, please find attached. Emily Forrest, partner, has provided the below statement. Please let me know if you would like to speak to Emily further.
“Pensions dashboards have been waiting in the wings for several years and, with its recent consultation now closed to responses, the DWP is ready to bring them centre stage. However, with final regulations not due until later in the year, and with no sight yet of the draft accompanying standards and guidance, the proposed timeframe for compliance (starting from April next year for master trusts) seems somewhat ambitious. With the industry still dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic, and any number of developments and projects which have been delayed as a result, there is little time to get ready. We therefore think it would be helpful if TPR could confirm that it won’t take any enforcement action until dashboards go live. This would give the industry more time to work through the dashboard requirements and ensure that the underlying data is ready for the public.
DB benefits in private pension schemes can be very complex. As currently drafted, the regulations could leave trustees exposed to liability if the simplistic valuation required to be placed on such benefits is left unexplained. We suggest that trustees should be able to include tailored commentary alongside all value data, as well as it being made clear in the regulations that any information provided to the dashboards is only illustrative in nature and remains subject to the scheme’s rules.
Download to read our full response.”
