First Actuarial connects billion pound scheme to pensions dashboards

First Actuarial has connected all relevant members of a £1 billion defined benefit scheme to the Pensions Dashboards Programme. Despite the complexity of the scheme – the result of around 12 mergers of legacy schemes each with different rules and benefit structures – data quality was high and few issues had to be referred to the trustees.

Scheme administration is heading into the digital age – with regulatory focus on data quality and guidance, together with developments such as the pensions dashboards leading to new standards, processes and data quality levels across the pensions sector. Pension dashboards are apps, websites or other tools which help individuals access information on multiple pensions in a single online venue, at a time of their choosing. 

Offering a centralised view of pension pots, and consolidating their data to improve retirement planning and enhance security. Adding extra support to that end in the UK, the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) is a government-backed initiative led by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).

First Actuarial, a company which is now part of global pensions consulting company Gallagher,  has been involved in the creation of pension dashboards from their very inception – and earlier in the year hired a number of experts to help supplement the firm’s knowhow, ahead of heightened demand on this front. This is something which was particularly important ahead of its latest completed project.

Carl Fletcher, associate partner at First Actuarial, commented, “With each merger, the scheme has addressed data issues around incoming members, standing it in good stead for the Pensions Dashboards Programme. What also helped is our administration colleagues, who run regular mortality screening and address checks, and carry out stringent verification processes for member payments and specific calculations. Their best practice has greatly eased the data testing process, which bodes well for other schemes we’ll be connecting to the pensions dashboards.”