Trustees and pension managers should not rely on the dashboard system to fix their data problems for them, according to panellists at a Pensions Dashboards Week event.
Lisa Lyon, CEO and founder of mypensionID, gave the warning at an online event yesterday (24 September) as part of Pensions Dashboards Week.
“Many pension schemes actually don’t feel it’s necessary to get their data up to date until maybe somebody retires,” Lyon said. “Some schemes think the pensions dashboard is going to fix it, but it’s not. If you don’t have accurate data now, going [into the dashboard rollout] is going to give you a whole nightmare of issues.”
Lyon added that data mishaps or issues around quality would be detrimental to instilling trust in pensions.
Fellow panellist Adam Warwick, chief technology officer at Bravura, said the pensions industry should recognise the long-term potential impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and similar technologies on the sector – and in particular how it can help with data management.
“It’s absolutely clear that the short-term hype around AI is completely overblown, but the long-term transformative impact of this technology is also grossly underestimated,” said Warwick. “Right now we are experiencing the tip of the iceberg.”
There are several ways pension schemes can actively prepare their data for AI integration, the panellists said.
Bravura’s Warwick said it was important for schemes to identify the repository of the data being held, where it will be created, and how it can be shared throughout an organisation.
He added: “I would encourage firms to first look at the data they master and control, looking at their core registry systems as that is typically where a single record of the truth is held.”
When discussing potential AI applications, panellist Gareth Tancred – CEO of the Pensions Management Institute – argued that the technology could play an important role in boosting pension awareness.
“AI and open banking platforms can really help here,” said Tancred, using the example of Moneyhub, which uses AI in its customer platform. “AI can also revolutionise how we manage our pensions with predictive analytics, showing us how to optimise contributions and so on.
“It’s believed this level of personalised service will dramatically improve user engagement and ultimately user outcomes. The dashboard is not just a look-up tool; it has to be a catalyst for profound change.”
Further reading
PMI predicts compulsory auto-enrolment by 2045 (23 September 2024)
Data a ‘fundamental problem’ for dashboards: Opperman (4 September 2024)
