Keith’s Training Hub

PRACTICAL WORKSHOP · 25 MINUTES

Pensions dashboards

Find and view pension information, interpret results and handle member enquiries.

As checked on 22 October 2026, 31 October 2026 is the final connection deadline for schemes and providers in scope, not the public launch date. MoneyHelper is being tested; public availability is expected in financial year 2027/28, with at least six months’ notice. This is a plan, not a confirmed launch day.

No quizzes, scores or assessed completion. Work on paper or in an approved blank Word document. This page does not collect or save your notes or track workshop progress.

Use fictional information only. Do not enter real member, customer or payroll data, passwords or confidential files into this course or external AI tools.

Before you begin: safety and scope

Use only the invented examples in this workshop. Do not enter real member details, National Insurance numbers, payroll data, passwords or confidential documents. This hub is not a pensions dashboard and cannot find pensions or verify identities. Training is general information, not personal financial advice. This independent training hub is not a government service and is not endorsed by the organisations linked below.

UK pensions dashboards are distinct from scheme-specific benefit rules. Northern Ireland has separate dashboard regulations and Department for Communities connection guidance, published 2 May 2024. Confirm the correct jurisdiction and approved scheme procedures; these public sources do not establish NILGOSC’s internal connection or compliance status.

  • Allow 25 minutes for four modules. Read the scenario and example, then complete the task on paper or in an approved blank document.
  • The people, providers, amounts and dates in the case study are invented. No account, sign-in or real pension search is needed.
  • Check the linked official guidance for changes before applying this learning at work.
Start the workshop

Alex’s fictional pension search

Alex has changed jobs and wants a clearer picture of retirement income. You work for the invented Harbour Pension Scheme. Practise explaining the service without accessing any personal records.

  • Harbour shows an illustrative defined benefit pension of £4,800 a year at age 67.
  • Cedar shows an illustrative defined contribution pot of £36,000 and an estimated income of £1,900 a year at age 68.
  • An expected pension from a former employer is not visible in the fictional results.
  • These are teaching figures, not live dashboard results or advice about Alex’s retirement.

MODULE 1 OF 4 · 6 MINUTES

What a dashboard does

You will: A short explanation of the service and its limits.

Scenario

Alex asks: “Is this a new government pension, and will it move all my old pensions into one account?”

Example

Worked example

“The service is designed to help you find and view pension information in one place. It does not move your money or replace your pension provider. We would check the official MoneyHelper service for current access arrangements.”

Takeaway: Explain information access, not a new pension or a transfer service.

Your task

  1. Write a two-sentence explanation for Alex in plain English.
  2. List two things a dashboard does not do.
  3. Check the official service-status reading below and note why connection and public access are different.

Your output: A short explanation of the service and its limits.

Working-note template
What the service helps with:
What it does not do:
Official availability source and date checked:

Reflect: Would your wording accidentally promise a live service or a complete pension list?

Read the lesson: why this matters

A pensions dashboard is an online service intended to help people find and view information about pensions together, including their State Pension. It is not a new pension scheme, a payment service or an automatic consolidation tool. Pensions remain with their existing schemes and providers. Pensions already being paid are not shown.

The Money and Pensions Service is developing the MoneyHelper pensions dashboard. The Pensions Dashboards Programme provides the connecting infrastructure and standards. Other dashboard services are a separate part of the wider programme; do not treat all dashboards as a single government account.

Connection of schemes to the infrastructure is not the same as public launch. A connection deadline must not be described as the date everyone can use a dashboard. Check the official availability notice before giving a member access instructions.

Sources for this module

MODULE 2 OF 4 · 6 MINUTES

Follow the member journey

You will: A safe journey map and follow-up route.

Scenario

Alex reaches a dashboard service and expects every previous pension to appear instantly. One result needs further checks and another pension is missing.

Example

Worked example

Harbour records the issue as “expected pension not shown”, not “no pension exists”. It explains that further checks may be needed and directs Alex to Harbour’s verified contact channel. The training note contains only the fictional case label, issue and next step.

Takeaway: An unresolved search result is a question to investigate, not a conclusion about entitlement.

Your task

  1. Write the journey as identity check → consent → search/match → view or follow up.
  2. Write one reassuring sentence for Alex that does not guarantee a result.
  3. Choose an approved contact route and state what must happen before discussing real records.

Your output: A safe journey map and follow-up route.

Working-note template
Journey:
What the result does and does not establish:
Approved follow-up route:
Identity check required:

Reflect: Have you kept “not found” separate from “no entitlement”?

Read the lesson: why this matters

The MoneyHelper journey starts with proving identity through GOV.UK One Login, giving permission to search and then viewing results or following any action shown. Schemes apply their matching criteria; a possible match needs resolution rather than an assumption that the pension belongs to the person.

A missing result does not prove there is no pension. Causes can include coverage, a scheme not yet connected, or information that does not match. Use official scheme or provider contact routes to investigate. Do not guess, merge records or disclose benefit details to resolve a training example.

For an enquiry at work, follow your organisation’s approved identity and security procedure. Do not ask for passwords, security codes or unnecessary personal records. A dashboard search does not remove the need for the scheme’s own controls.

Sources for this module

MODULE 3 OF 4 · 7 MINUTES

Read the figures correctly

You will: A labelled pension comparison with two checks.

Scenario

Alex sees Harbour’s £4,800 annual pension and Cedar’s £36,000 pot. Alex adds them and says: “So I get £40,800 a year?”

Example

Worked example

Harbour: £4,800 a year, defined benefit, illustrated at age 67. Cedar: £36,000 pot; separate estimated income £1,900 a year at age 68. The £36,000 is not annual income, and neither this exercise nor the dashboard is a personalised recommendation about transferring or taking benefits.

Takeaway: Label the units and assumptions before drawing conclusions.

Your task

  1. Create one line for each fictional pension: type, amount, unit and retirement age.
  2. Explain in a sentence why £40,800 a year is wrong.
  3. List two facts you would verify with the scheme or provider before explaining the figures further.

Your output: A labelled pension comparison with two checks.

Working-note template
Pension | Type | Amount and unit | Retirement age | Date/assumptions to check
Harbour |
Cedar |
Why the figures cannot simply be added:
Checks:

Reflect: Would someone reading your comparison mistake an estimate for a guaranteed payment?

Read the lesson: why this matters

A defined benefit pension is commonly expressed as income payable under scheme rules. A defined contribution pot is a value of savings; an estimated retirement income is a different figure derived using assumptions. A pot and an annual income are not interchangeable.

Check what the figure represents, the date it relates to, the retirement age and any assumptions or warnings. Do not confuse benefits built up so far with a projection that may depend on future contributions. Estimates can change and are not guaranteed retirement quotations.

Even the fictional £4,800 and £1,900 annual income figures need context: one is shown at age 67 and the other at age 68. Do not present a combined amount as guaranteed income starting on a single date. The State Pension also has its own forecast and entitlement context.

Sources for this module

MODULE 4 OF 4 · 6 MINUTES

Prepare the administration response

You will: A three-action readiness plan and member-response draft.

Scenario

Harbour expects questions about missing pensions and unfamiliar figures. The team needs a short readiness plan, not a promise that connection means all work is complete.

Example

Worked example

Harbour assigns a fictional data lead to review matching-data completeness, a benefits lead to check displayed figure descriptions and a member-service lead to test the “missing pension” response. Each action has evidence and an escalation owner, rather than only a green status.

Takeaway: Readiness means named owners, checked evidence and a safe exception route.

Your task

  1. Select three readiness checks from the lesson.
  2. For each, name a fictional owner, evidence needed and exception route.
  3. Draft a three-sentence response to Alex: acknowledge the missing result, explain its limits and give a safe next step.

Your output: A three-action readiness plan and member-response draft.

Working-note template
Check | Fictional owner | Evidence | Exception route
1.
2.
3.
Member-response draft:

Reflect: Could a colleague follow your next step without receiving unnecessary personal data?

Read the lesson: why this matters

Readiness includes data quality, matching, view-data accuracy, security, member support and ongoing monitoring. Connecting once is not the whole operational task. Responsibility does not disappear because a supplier provides the technical connection.

Use a small evidence-led checklist: who owns the action, what is checked, what proves it works, and where an exception goes. In real work, use approved records and controls; this exercise needs fictional descriptions only.

Escalate suspected errors or inappropriate disclosure through approved procedures. Do not alter live records, relax matching rules, send member data to this hub or create accounts as part of training. For suspected disclosure of another person’s pension, restrict access and escalate immediately through the approved incident route. For an outage, record the symptom and route it to the service owner; do not say the pension has disappeared or guess a recovery time.

Sources for this module

Your working templates

Use the blank templates for your fictional exercise. Compare your approach with the worked examples, not with a pass mark.

Explain the service
What it does:
What it does not do:
Current availability source/date:
Safe contact route:
Compare the pension figures
Pension | Type | Amount/unit | Retirement age | Date | Assumptions
Harbour |
Cedar |
Do not combine these figures because:
Respond to a missing-pension enquiry
Acknowledge the concern:
Explain what is not yet known:
Approved identity check/contact route:
Next step and owner:
Prepare a readiness plan
Action | Owner | Evidence | Exception route
1.
2.
3.
Review date:

This button opens the sections before printing. Check the print preview and choose which pages you need.

Review your working draft

  • Explain what the service does without claiming that every pension will appear.
  • Keep public access separate from scheme connection milestones.
  • Label each figure with its type, date and retirement age; do not add a pot to annual income.
  • Use approved identity checks and official contact routes for missing information.
  • Assign an owner and evidence to each readiness action.

Compare your draft with the examples. Discuss any workplace process changes with the appropriate scheme owner before taking action.

There is no saved completion tick for this workshop. Existing course answers and progress are unchanged.

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