26 March 2024
Trafalgar House, a specialist third-party pensions administrator, today urged schemes to take action on dashboard data health checks now, particularly in relation to matching readiness, so as not to suffer the consequences further down the line.
Commenting Katie Stone, Senior Client Relationship Manager, at Trafalgar House said: “Yesterday the DWP published staging dates for all schemes
which has set the clock ticking. Whilst they may still feel like a way off, and with pressing projects and milestones on the horizon before then, there is a real danger that many schemes may choose to delay sorting their dashboard data and very much find themselves in TPR’s crosshairs.
“We fully recognise the pressure schemes are under, but the fact of the matter is that schemes are responsible for ensuring the successful onboarding of members to a dashboard platform in the not-too-distant future and for some this will come sooner than others. It is also predicted that when dashboards start to come on to the market there will be very large volumes of find requests. Healthy scheme data will be critical in managing these and greatly reduce partial matching. If schemes get this right, it will significantly reduce additional costs.”
Stone added: “There are several data matching conventions that schemes can consider. All will use certain core data items – such as National Insurance number, date of birth and surname. However, schemes could be receiving a much broader dataset within “find requests”, including verified current address, mobile telephone number and an email address so they will need to consider if they’re going to be able to support this to lead to a successful validation, and trace any missing items.
“TPR have been clear that there will be consequences for schemes who have not adequately prepared and who cannot demonstrate best efforts. There are a lot of useful tools out there to help trustees meet the data matching standards required, PASA has produced connection guidance and TPR themselves have also provided support. Now it’s up to schemes themselves to take action.”
(ENDS)
