With around six months to go until all pension providers and occupational schemes must be connected to the UK’s new MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard*, four in five (80%) UK adults remain unaware of the initiative, according to new research from KPMG UK**.
Awareness is lowest among those closest to retirement: 81% of those aged 55–64 and 87% of those aged 65 and over had not heard of the initiative. Encouragingly, there is greater awareness among younger age groups, with 18–24-year-olds being the most aware (30%), followed by 35-44-year olds (25%) and 25-34-year olds (22%). “Pensions dashboards are very important for people who are still saving for retirement, so it is encouraging to see higher levels of awareness among younger age groups. Those closer to retirement may already feel they have a handle on their pensions, which could explain lower awareness in those age groups”, said Huw Evans, Head of Insurance at KPMG UK.
“There is a lot more to do to drive up awareness and explain how dashboards will help people save into pensions, understand potential future retirement income and track down lost pension pots.”
Despite low awareness, consumers are positive about engaging with the dashboard once it goes live. More than half (53%) of UK adults say they would be likely to use it, with interest highest among those aged 35–44 (71% likely). Among those who say they are likely to use the dashboard, the majority expect to access it quickly: 53% say they would check it within the first month of launch (35% within the first month; 18% within the first 2–3 weeks).
However, 13% of UK adults say they are very unlikely to use the pensions dashboard. The top reasons that would put people off are concerns about the security of personal and financial data (31%), worries about being targeted with unsolicited financial products or advertising (28%), and not seeing the point because they feel they already know roughly what they have saved (21%).
What would encourage people to use the pensions dashboard?
- Being able to see all my pensions in one place (22%)
- Confidence that my data is secure and protected (21%)
- Clear information about how much money I might have in retirement (18%)
- Being able to track how my pension is growing over time (18%)
- Easy login and simple digital experience (17%)
- Knowing it is backed by the government or regulated bodies (17%)
Huw Evans adds: “Pensions dashboards have the potential to be a powerful tool; helping people to better understand the value of both their state and private pensions and make informed decisions for the future. The pensions sector and the Pensions Dashboards programme have worked tirelessly to connect over 60 million records to date, but the scale of the task has inevitably meant that promotion has taken a back seat. Our research is a reminder that the work must start now to step up awareness of pensions dashboards, especially among the age groups closest to retirement.”
