Fidelity International, Mercer, Penny and Pension Lab have reportedly joined the industry coalition of “potential” operators of commercial pensions dashboards, working with government and regulators in order help support the launch of various dashboards for UK consumers.
As explained in the update, dashboards provide consumers with a consolidated view of their pensions, making it easier to manage retirement savings and make well-informed decisions regarding their retirement.
Along with the other Coalition firms, this brings UK consumers’ choice of potential dashboards to 15 (including the MoneyHelper pensions dashboard from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)).
The existing member companies of the (Pensions) Dashboard Operators Coalition (DOC) are as follows: Aviva, Just Group, Legal & General, Mintago, Moneybox, Moneyhub, NatWest Cushon, Scottish Widows (part of Lloyds Banking Group), Smart Pension, and Standard Life (part of Phoenix Group).
Fidelity International supports retail and workplace savers with their plans for retirement.
To assist them with achieving their financial goals, Fidelity says that it will be focused on exploring opportunities to provide savers a consolidated view of pension wealth via its online services, through a commercial pensions dashboard.
For the Mercer DC Master Trust’s 250,000 members, communication and engagement are already supported by the open banking app, Mercer Money.
Mercer is looking to enhance this by adding in a commercial pensions dashboard (or Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service, QPDS).
Mercer recently announced its intention to “acquire Cardano, including NOW: Pensions, which has an additional 2.4 million members.”
Penny is a fintech designed to simplify retirement planning and make saving for the future easier.
The company’s use of technology makes it easy for individuals to locate and consolidate their pension pots. With ongoing improvements and support, Penny ensures users are fully equipped to build a comfortable retirement.
Penny intends to include a QPDS within its simple modern app providing customers with a secure and enjoyable experience.
Pension Lab is a provider of white-labelled pension transfer and consolidation dashboards, known for its passion for innovative technology solutions and its vision to address cross-industry challenges, recently winning a Best Use of Platform Technology Award alongside one of its clients.
Pension Lab’s technology simplifies complex processes and automates essential tasks such as Letters of Authority (LoAs).
The company now aims to extend its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) permissions to become an authorised Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service (QPDS) operator.
Fidelity International Head of Workplace Investing Distribution Dan Smith said that providing them with a single view of their pensions savings will help “to increase levels of engagement, while addressing the challenges presented by a proliferation of small pots.”
Mercer Master Trust Head of Engagement Tom Higham said that pensions dashboards are a powerful tool to help savers demystify their pensions and “build the retirement they deserve.”
They added that dshboards will enable members to “make informed decisions about their financial future, providing a reliable platform to access all of their pension needs.”
Pension Lab Chief Executive Officer and Founder Scott Phillips said that as the pensions dashboards landscape evolves, it’s encouraging “to see so many providers committing to giving consumers full visibility of their retirement savings.”
As noted in the update, Fidelity International offers investment solutions and services and retirement expertise to more than 2.9 million customers globally.
Operating in over 25 locations and with $862 billion in total assets, its clients range from central banks, sovereign wealth funds, large corporates, financial institutions, insurers, and wealth managers, to private individuals. Fidelity’s Global Platform solutions business provides individuals, advisers and employers with access to world-class investment choices, third-party solutions, administration services and pension guidance.
Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), is a global leader in helping clients realise their investment objectives, “shape the future of work and enhance health and retirement outcomes for their people.”
As noted in the update shared with CI, Penny is an fintech designed to “simplify retirement planning and make saving for the future easier.”
The company’s use of tech has improved pension tracing and transfers, making it easier for individuals to “locate and consolidate their pension pots.”
Pension Lab says that it specializes in delivering integrated regulatory solutions for advisers, planners, providers and administrators.
Their solutions ensure compliant pension transfers, “from locating pensions to automated Letter of Authority processing.”
With FCA authorization and ISO27001 certification, they claim to uphold “bank-grade” security standards, catering to various financial institutions.