Watchdog Probes Delay in Multimillion-Pound Pensions Project
The National Audit Office will check why the government’s Pensions Dashboard project is taking so long. It was supposed to be ready seven years ago and has cost a lot of money from taxpayers.
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In a letter seen by PoliticsHome, the National Audit Office (NAO) has responded to a request from Labour MP Nick Smith to look into the project’s delays. They confirmed they plan to start a review by the end of this year.
The Pensions Dashboard Programme aims to create a digital tool where people can see all their pension savings in one place, with real-time updates. It was announced by David Cameron’s Conservative government in the March 2015 Budget. Originally, they expected a working version by Spring 2017 and set an industry deadline for 2019.
However, despite many pension schemes saying they’d be ready to provide data by 2020, the program’s delivery date was pushed back to 2023 and then delayed again to October 2026.
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) was given £91.1 million to make this happen between 2019/20 and 2024/2025, and about half of this amount, £45.3 million, has already been spent. These repeated delays led Smith to write to the NAO requesting an investigation.
In his letter confirming the investigation, Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General of the NAO, mentioned that while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working on resetting the program, they will still be subject to a review.
Davies wrote, “My team has completed their initial inquiries, including discussions with DWP officials to understand what has transpired with the program and the reset plans. Based on this work, I believe it would be beneficial for us to conduct a responsive investigation in this area.”
He acknowledged the ongoing efforts to reset the program and, therefore, decided not to begin the review immediately. He anticipates his team will start working on it towards the end of this year.
Labour MP Nick Smith, a member of the Public Accounts Commons Select Committee, welcomed this development, considering it “good news” that the independent public spending watchdog is stepping in. He believes it will provide the necessary push, given the program’s prolonged delays.
Nick Smith, the Labour MP, expressed his belief that government ministers may not appreciate the National Audit Office’s scrutiny, but he sees it as a positive development given the prolonged failure to explain the causes of the delays. He anticipates that there will likely be a public accounts committee hearing following the NAO study.
In his initial letter requesting the NAO investigation, Smith highlighted the potential significant impact of the delays, pointing out that approximately £37 billion is lost in forgotten pension funds across the UK. This situation translates into additional government spending on the program.
He stated, “Separately, it is estimated that £37 billion is lost in forgotten pension pots across the UK. This means around 22 percent of people have lost track of their pensions, and the Department for Work and Pensions predicts that this problem could grow to as many as 50 million dormant and lost pension pots by 2050.
The Pensions Dashboard Programme has the potential to both unlock this money and improve pension literacy across the country. The longer that the program remains undelivered, the longer the pensions system remains inefficient.”
Smith added that with households facing rising living costs, helping people manage their pensions is more crucial than ever.
A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) affirmed the government’s commitment to realizing pensions dashboards. They emphasised that the program’s reset will enable significant progress in delivering dashboards securely, ultimately transforming retirement planning for people.
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