92% unaware of Government-backed Pensions Dashboard

People are not aware of the government-backed pensions dashboard

High majority of people have not heard of the Government-backed Pensions Dashboard, a research by YouGov showed. There are misconceptions regarding the initiative by the government and people are not clear about the intended objective of the pension dashboard. The research commissioned by evestor found that over a quarter of people wrongly think it will provide them with financial advice. Out of those surveyed, 61% did not know that it would provide them with access to all their pensions in one place. 27% incorrectly thought the Dashboard will provide them with financial advice on their pension plans, while 19% thought they’ll be able to use it to make deposits into their pensions.

A large number of consumers are not aware of the value of their pensions, it was found in the research. A lot of consumer participation is required for the proposal. It has been suggested that lack of knowledge about the Pension Dashboard shows a lack of people’s involvement in the process which concerns them. The government has estimated that, on an average, people have 11 jobs during their careers, which means they are likely to have 11 different pension plans. The Pension Dashboard is estimated to help consumers track down £60 million worth of pension pots. It is due to launch in 2019.

Anthony Morrow, co-founder of evestor, commented:

"The research also revealed that 36% of consumers don’t know the current value of their pensions. This suggests the concept of the Pensions Dashboard is fundamentally sound, but the development and rollout requires much more consumer involvement. 

“The lack of consumer awareness and knowledge about the Dashboard shows people aren’t being properly consulted in the creation of a tool that’s supposed to serve their interests. If consumers were being sufficiently involved, they’d be talking about this and there would be much greater knowledge about what it is.

“Industry and Government need to avoid this becoming self-serving and box ticking exercise. The emphasis must be ‘what’s in it for the public’ and not ‘what’s in it for the industry’, otherwise the Dashboard will end-up a flop and a missed opportunity to help savers that need support. More people need to be asked about their pensions challenges and objectives stretched beyond simply helping them access plans. It’s all well and good tracking pensions, but, understandably, most savers don’t know what to do with multiple pots. They need advice now that suits their individual needs and retirement goals."