On 11 February 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a new webpage, ‘Pension dashboards: how to register with the Money and Pension Service’ (MaPS). The webpage sets out what pension providers need to do in order to register their connection with the pensions dashboard ecosystem provided by MaPS.
Background
The FCA explains that, when launched, pensions dashboards will be places where consumers can securely access online information about their pensions that are not yet paying benefits. Pensions dashboard rules for pension providers were published in November 2022 and are now set out in COBS 19.11 of the FCA Handbook.
Actions for pension providers
The webpage explains that, by 31 October 2026 at the latest, providers of relevant pension schemes need to register with MaPS, connect to the digital architecture operated by the Pensions Dashboard Programme (a function of MaPS), and be ready and able (from date of connection) to receive requests to find pensions and search records for data matches and to return pensions information to the consumer’s chosen pensions dashboard.
The FCA notes that firms must have regard to Department for Work and Pensions guidance, which includes a staged timetable for connection. Relevant dates in that guidance for FCA-regulated providers are:
- 30 April 2025, for firms with 5,000 or more relevant members.
- 31 January 2026, for firms with fewer than 5,000 relevant members.
Also set out on the webpage are instructions for registering connection to the pensions dashboard ecosystem, including how to apply to the FCA for a registration code and what to expect after the application has been submitted.