Today marks the first deadline for pension schemes to register their connection with the Pensions Dashboard ecosystem.

By the end of the day today, all FCA-regulated scheme providers with 5,000 or more relevant members must have registered with the service and connect to the digital architecture operated by the Pensions Dashboard Programme.

Providers must be ready and able from the date of connection to receive requests to find pensions, and search records for data matches. They must also be ready to return pensions information to the consumer’s chosen Pensions Dashboard.

To register their connection to the MAPS’ Pensions Dashboards ecosystem, firms in scope of COBS 19.11 need a registration code generated by the Service.

Providers of schemes with fewer than 5,000 relevant members have until 31 January 2026 to connect.

Emily Forrest, partner at pension specialist law firm Sackers, said that today’s deadline marks a significant milestone, but there has been a backlog in connecting providers to the Dashboards system.

She said: “The largest schemes are expected to connect by 30 April 2025 and, while there is a bit of a backlog in connecting all the relevant providers directly to the ecosystem, the first few have successfully got on board. 

“As schemes continue with their preparations and connect in line with the staged timetable, we can look ahead to the next port of call in the summer – user testing.  But with the overall statutory connection deadline being 31 October 2026, our ultimate destination – dashboards going live to the public – still remains some way off on the horizon.”

The Money and Pensions Service first published Pensions Dashboard rules for pension providers in November 2022 just before the FCA first consulted on proposed requirements for firms operating a Pensions Dashboard in December 2022.

Last November the FCA released the rules firms must follow when designing and operating commercial Pensions Dashboards.

It issued its Policy Statement with its proposed rules and expectations for the initial launch of private sector Pension Dashboards but made it clear that the rules were likely to evolve over time.

In January pension trustees were urged to act ahead of the looming Pensions Dashboard staging dates to avoid unnecessary costs, protect member benefits and ensure a smooth transition.