The deadline for all schemes to connect to the pensions dashboards system is October 31, 2026. Trustees wishing to defer their connection have until August 8, 2024, to apply.
Permission must be sought from the Secretary of State and evidence must be provided that (before August 9, 2024), they had begun transferring scheme data to a new administrator or they have entered into a contract for re-tender of the scheme's administration. If the latter, the timescale for the re-tender must be reasonable and conflict with the connection deadline of October 31, 2026. They must also show that complying with the connection deadline would be disproportionately burdensome or would put the personal data of members at risk. It is unlikely that changing administrator alone will be sufficient reason to defer.
The Secretary of State may agree the request to delay the scheme's deadline by up to 12 months or may turn it down.
Our August briefing will be an updated version of our previous dashboards briefing and will set out the updated timetable and provide links to the DWP's current scheme guidance.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.