The government has challenged pension providers to build a fintech app that will revolutionise retirement planning by showing all a saver’s pensions in one online place.
Pension dashboards are a way of urging retirement savers to put more money aside for when they give up work by helping them see just how much they have saved – and how much money they need for a comfortable retirement.
According to official statistics, most workers will have at least 11 jobs during their working life – which could mean having a pension pot linked to each.
One in three workers says they have lost track of these pensions and need help finding them, according to official statistics.
Technology delivers
Economic Secretary Simon Kirby encouraged pension providers and fintech firms to design a basic pension dashboard in just 24 hours as part of Britain’s Fintech Week 2017.
“This is about showing what fintech can do for pensions and in turn what this can deliver for consumers,” he said.
“Pensions and savings decisions are some of the most important a person will make during their lifetime. The government is determined to make sure people can easily access the information they need to plan effectively for their future.
“I am delighted to see so many innovative technology companies coming together to show the benefits for people unlocked by the prototype project.”
One-stop pension shop
The first step of the challenge was pension firms agreeing to a common data format for their customer records. Although this is not a final standard, the agreement allows a working party to build a dashboard prototype.
“With a few clicks and some basic personal information, I was able to log onto a website which displayed the details of our test person’s pension from a range of real pension company systems. With a glance, I could see how much they might earn each month when they retire, how much money was in each pension, and who was looking after these pensions,” said Kirby.
“The technology works and I am confident that we are close to providing consumers with a one-stop shop that will allow them to see their pensions information at the click of button.”
