On the go: The Pensions Administration Standards Association has launched new guidance on e-administration, as schemes need to get their data in order to comply with the pensions dashboards deadline in 2023.
The guidance, developed by PASA’s eAdministration Working Group, aims to support schemes to benchmark their own current arrangements, while setting objectives and planning investments for their technology journey.
The document outlines four key stages for schemes to go through in this process, starting with data quality and storage.
The industry body stated that “good quality, accurate and complete data, which is easily accessible and appropriately stored, is the foundation upon which the technology infrastructure will be built”.
Administrators, trustees, pension managers and sponsors should then focus on systems and processes, since upgrading or replacing legacy systems is essential, PASA noted.
It suggested that “processes should be automated and connected to member portals, reducing the requirement for manual intervention, including allowing online service for ID verification and not needing paper certificates”, which “reduces risk and minimises fraud, errors and inefficiencies”.
Schemes should then pay attention to user interface, since digital interactive member portals will be more engaging than the paper-based communications most members currently receive, it stressed.
Finally, pension funds should create reporting structures once the foundations of data quality are in place, since it “delivers significant benefits”, PASA added.
Kim Gubler, chair at the industry body, noted that to “meet the mandatory requirement to submit electronic data to the pensions dashboards by 2023, schemes need to start investing and planning now”.
She said: “Our new guidance aims to effectively partner with every scheme as it moves through its own journey, helping to prioritise and assess where investment is required to improve service delivery and member end-user experience.”
Kim Toker, chair of PASA’s eAdmin Working Group, added that “significant performance improvements can be achieved when people and technology work together”.
“The beneficiaries of this improved service within the pensions industry will be scheme administrators, trustees and, most importantly, members,” she noted.
David Fairs, executive director of regulatory policy, analysis and advice at the Pensions Regulator, said: “All savers deserve a high-quality modern service, but some parts of the pensions industry are lagging behind in their systems, processes and data.
“Ensuring pensions are fit for the 21st century may seem daunting, but PASA’s guidance breaks the journey into manageable steps to help those who aren’t sure how to start.”
