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Making workplace pensions work

Pensions dashboards: guidance

Before and after connection: checklists

You can use these checklists to ensure you are on track to meet your duties before and after connecting.

Download a PDF version of the 'Before you connect' checklist Download a PDF version of the 'After you connect' checklist

Table: Before you connect

Action

Relevant guidance

Put in place effective oversight

Establish pensions dashboards as a regular agenda item at your board meetings, record key decisions and stay up to date with developments in the regulations, Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) standards and relevant guidance. 

Overview: your role and legal duties

Check your connect by date

Ensure you know your connect by date and when you need to complete different actions. 

When your scheme needs to connect with dashboards

Decide how and when to connect

Your decision should include whether you will build your own interface or use a third-party to connect – then you should agree when you will connect. 

When your scheme needs to connect with dashboards

Prepare for your reporting and record-keeping requirements

Make sure you understand what information you will need to report and what records you need to keep, and put in place the required processes. 

Ongoing connection and record-keeping requirements

Speak to your administrator and third-parties

Agree a practical delivery plan with relevant parties eg software provider, actuary, legal adviser, employer, AVC provider and ensure you receive regular updates on implementation. 

Overview: your role and legal duties

Appoint new suppliers or revise contracts

Ensure you understand the service you are receiving and associated costs. 

Overview: your role and legal duties

Table: Matching data – used to match members to their pensions

Action

Relevant guidance

Review data quality 

Assess the quality and digital accessibility of personal data in member records. 

Matching people with their pensions

Set your matching criteria

Decide the data items you will use to confirm matches or possible matches. 

Matching people with their pensions

Prepare for possible matches

Establish the process for how you will resolve possible matches when dashboard users contact you. 

Matching people with their pensions

Improve your scheme member data quality

Where your member data needs improving, put plans in place to deliver. 

Matching people with their pensions

Produce or update your Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) 

Matching, combining or comparing data from multiple sources requires a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA). Review and update as necessary. 

Matching people with their pensions

Table: Value data – what you will return to members to show pension value

Action

Relevant guidance

Understand the requirements

You must know what value data you will need to return to members and by when. 

Information to provide to members

Review data quality

Assess the quality and digital accessibility of the value data you will provide to your members. 

Information to provide to members

Improve your data

Where value data needs improving or bringing up to date, put plans in place to deliver. 

Information to provide to members

If you have been using our original checklist – don’t worry. The actions within the original checklist are still relevant. This new checklist is 1 of 2, where we have split pre and post connection actions for greater clarity, paired with some enhanced detail.

Table: After you connect

Action

Relevant guidance

Make sure you are fully connected

Ensure that all relevant members in your scheme are connected and take action if not. Maintain your connection as an ongoing requirement to avoid breach of law. 

Ongoing connection and record-keeping requirements 

Deliver data improvements

Any outstanding improvements to your data need to be delivered. Embed controls to maintain the quality of dashboards data on an ongoing basis. 

Maintaining data quality

Maintain effective oversight

Keep pensions dashboards as a regular agenda item at your board meetings, record key decisions and stay up to date with developments in the regulations, Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) standards and relevant guidance. 

Ongoing connection and record-keeping requirements

Track progress

Receive regular reports from your team and suppliers and make sure they are on track to deliver.

Overview: your role and legal duties

Refine your processes

Review the effectiveness of your processes in light of testing and improve these where required. 

Matching people with their pensions

Meet your reporting and record-keeping requirements

Ensure that your providers provide reporting data to MaPS when required and that you receive a copy of these reports for your own purposes. Keep the relevant records and make these available to us on request. 

Ongoing connection and record-keeping requirements

If you have been using our original checklist – don’t worry. The actions within the original checklist are still relevant. This new checklist is 2 of 2, where we have split pre and post connection actions for greater clarity, paired with some enhanced detail.