He estimates this will need to take place on a “significant scale” over the coming months and years.
Mr Howorth adds: “Connecting the sheer volume of data out there is a crucial challenge that has held up the development of the pension dashboards until now.
“It will only be of real value to consumers if they can access data that is current, accurate and complete.”
Digital identity
Another area where the industry needs to show a greater adoption of technology is in the area of digital identity.
This is basically how providers can prove a person or company is who they say they are when it comes to identifying them in connections or transactions online, using any personal device.
Says the ABI’s Mr Yuille: “Innovation is developing rapidly and in Gov.UK Verify, there is a solution that can be adopted by the private sector, although it will be critical to develop a framework in which all parties trust each other.”
This is a vital point for Mr Brown, who says: “Robust electronic authentication of customers and members is of paramount importance, although we are on the cusp of a solution to this.
“As with all aspects of the pension dashboard, there are some challenging questions – but nothing is insurmountable. Where the challenge will exist is ensuring the core central processes have the right technical governance in place to support and enable innovation.
“Controlling access is pivotal, and a strong framework is essential.”
Pension Finder Service
The dashboard will also have to work with the DWP's pension finder service, which launched last year.
So far, the tracing service has been popular with people looking for lost pension policies.
According to the DWP, since its launch, the Pension Tracing Service has:
- Allowed people to search a database of more than 320,000 pension scheme contact details.
- 83 per cent of users are either satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received.
Moreover, according to data from the DWP:
- There were 169,000 tracing requests in 2015/16 (this covers the online service, agent referred, telephony and postal channels).
- Over the past 10 years there has been a 436 per cent increase in tracing requests.
Parliamentary process
At a recent Marketforce conference, industry commentators lamented the positive momentum between government, advisers, technology companies and pension providers who were working together on the dashboard risked being lost as a result of the political upheaval.
Of course, between starting the information gathering for this guide and the publication of it, we've had a surprise general election - perhaps more surprising for Prime Minister Theresa May than for anyone else - a complete cabinet reshuffle and new people at the Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and across the Conservative front bench.
Simon Kirby, former economic secretary to the Treasury, had been leading the government's involvement in the pension dashboard process.
However, he lost out to his Labour opponent in the 8 June general election. Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, comments: "Mr Kirby losing his seat in the election must not put the success of the pension dashboard in doubt.
