Two roadshow events to showcase the Pensions Dashboard prototype to members of the long-term savings industry, financial advisers and a wide range of other stakeholders are being held in Edinburgh this week.
The events, being convened by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in their role as project managers, will involve a demonstration of the prototype system, recently presented to ministers, ahead of discussions about how a future service should be developed and operated for the good of pension savers.
The sessions are designed to encourage challenge and flush out some of the problems which need to be overcome before a system of multiple pensions dashboards can be made available for public use.
The events are being held on Tuesday 9th May at the group headquarters of Scottish Widows and on Thursday 11th May at the head offices of Standard Life PLC.
Similar events have already been held in London and Birmingham.
Yvonne Braun, Director of Long-term Savings and Protection policy at the ABI, said:
"Pension dashboards have the potential to transform how people engage with their pensions and make plans for their retirement. The dashboard project has made a hugely promising start towards delivering a system the public can use by 2019. But overcoming the technological hurdles is only the start.
That’s why it’s crucial people from all parts of the pensions world join us at events like these in Edinburgh to help work out how to put the right framework in place to make pensions dashboards trusted sources of information for everyone.”
Angie Kirkwood, pensions expert at Scottish Widows, said:
“We have been heavily involved in this Treasury-led initiative to produce a proof of concept for a pensions dashboard and are looking forward to hosting an event in Edinburgh to showcase the collective progress we’ve made so far. The benefit to pension customers of having one easily-accessible place to obtain all of the information about past and present pensions is irrefutable and these events are a key element in order to take this initiative to the next phase.”
Jamie Jenkins, Head of Pensions Strategy at Standard Life, said:
“Events like this are important for the development of the Pensions Dashboard and in addressing the various digital and technical challenges. We have been supportive of this initiative from the beginning and we’re looking forward to hosting this event to gather input from a wider community of interested parties, helping to ensure the final product is fit for purpose from day one.”
The Pensions Dashboard prototype met its deadline to demonstrate to Government ministers in March. Read more about what the project has achieved and which firms were involved at www.pensionsdashboardproject.uk, where you can also view a video explaining how the prototype works.
Notes for Editors
1. Enquiries to:
Malcolm Tarling 020 7216 7410 Mobile: 07776 147667
Lauren Gow 020 7216 7327 Mobile: 07889 641702
Sarah Cordey 020 7216 7375 Mobile: 07860 189071
2. The Association of British Insurers is the leading trade association for insurers and providers of long term savings. Our 250 members include most household names and specialist providers who contribute £12bn in taxes and manage investments of £1.6 trillion.
3. An ISDN line is available for broadcast
4. More news and information from the ABI is available on our web site, www.abi.org.uk.