A pensions dashboard IFA website strategy is no longer optional for any UK practice that takes new clients from organic search or AI engines. The Pensions Dashboards Programme is on course to give every UK consumer a single live view of every workplace and personal pension they hold, and the statutory connection deadline for providers is 31 October 2026 (Pensions Dashboards Programme, 2026). The work to add to your IFA website is best done before the public launch, not after.
What is the pensions dashboard and when does it launch?
The pensions dashboard is a government-backed service that lets UK consumers see every pension they hold, including State Pension, in one secure online place for the first time. The statutory deadline for providers to connect to the ecosystem is 31 October 2026, and the MoneyHelper dashboard is expected to go live late 2026 or early 2027.
The Money and Pensions Service began its second phase of consumer testing in March 2026 to refine how people interact with the dashboard before launch. The Department for Work and Pensions has signalled that connection is on track, with around three quarters of in-scope records already integrated and the State Pension data feed live.
Step 1
April 2025
FCA-regulated providers begin staged connection to the Pensions Dashboards Programme architecture.
Step 2
January 2026
Next major FCA-regulated staging window; large platforms expected to complete connection.
Step 3
March 2026
Money and Pensions Service starts phase 2 of public usability testing on the MoneyHelper dashboard.
Step 4
31 October 2026
Statutory deadline: all pension schemes and providers must be connected to the Pensions Dashboards ecosystem.
Step 5
Late 2026 / early 2027
Expected go-live of the MoneyHelper public dashboard, followed by commercial dashboards from authorised firms.
Commercial dashboards from authorised firms will follow the MoneyHelper launch. The Pensions Minister has confirmed that commercial dashboards will not go live before the public service has bedded in. That sequencing matters because the consumer's first dashboard experience will be a no-advice, no-product MoneyHelper screen.
Why does the pensions dashboard matter for an IFA website?
The dashboard is a discovery tool, not an advice tool. It shows the consumer what pensions they hold, including ones they had forgotten, and that single moment of clarity is what generates the action. Most of that action will be questions, and most of those questions will land on whichever IFA website ranks or gets cited for the relevant query.
This is the first time the average UK consumer will see a consolidated picture of their retirement provision. Many will be surprised at what they find, and some will be alarmed. Almost all of them will look up "what do I do with my pensions" on Google, ChatGPT, or Google AI Mode within minutes.
| Feature | MoneyHelper Dashboard | Your IFA Website |
|---|---|---|
| Shows the value of every pension the client holds | ✔ | ✘ |
| Recommends a course of action | ✘ | ✔ |
| Explains the trade-offs of consolidation | ✘ | ✔ |
| Flags safeguarded or guaranteed benefits at risk | ✘ | ✔ |
| Captures the visitor as a lead | ✘ | ✔ |
| Available 24 hours a day | ✔ | Only if you have a chat layer |
A static brochure site is not equipped for this moment. The visitor arrives with a question that has been triggered by a screen they have just seen, and the contact form will not satisfy that urgency. The firms that win the lead are the ones whose websites already answer the most likely questions on the page and offer an interactive way to ask follow-ups.
Which client questions will spike when the dashboard goes live?
Expect five clusters of questions the moment the public dashboard goes live. They are predictable because they follow directly from what the dashboard shows and what it deliberately does not show. Plan content for each cluster before launch, not after, because the first six weeks of search interest will go to whoever is already there.
The five clusters are:
- Lost pensions. "I have found a pension I forgot about. What do I do with it?"
- Consolidation. "Should I move all my pensions into one place?"
- Charges and value. "How do I tell if my old workplace pension is good value?"
- Decumulation. "I am close to retirement. How do I turn this into income?"
- Suitability of self-service. "Can I just consolidate myself without an adviser?"
Each cluster maps to a page or section that should already exist on your site by autumn 2026. Use clear question-led H2s and 40 to 60 word answer paragraphs underneath each one. That structure is what Google AI Mode and ChatGPT lift into their answers, as covered in our piece on how to be cited by Google AI Mode in financial advice.
What does the pensions dashboard mean for pension consolidation advice?
Consolidation will be the dominant theme of dashboard-driven enquiries because seeing a list of small pots is the most common trigger for action. 2024 consumer research cited by Steve Webb found that, of consumers who consolidated pensions, only 32% considered fees, 21% reviewed investment choices, and 7% checked for lost guarantees (Money Marketing, 2026).
% of consolidators
Those numbers are the case for advised consolidation. Defined Benefit transfers, Guaranteed Annuity Rates, protected tax-free cash above 25%, and protected pension ages can all be lost in a careless transfer. Your IFA website should name these risks explicitly so that AI engines can cite them when a consumer asks "what could go wrong if I consolidate".
The FCA's simplified advice and targeted support regimes both allow firms to act with a narrower fact-find than full advice. Targeted support went live for FCA-regulated firms on 6 April 2026, and is covered in detail in our post on the FCA targeted support rules and what they mean for your practice. For dashboard-driven enquiries, those regimes are the practical bridge between a generic "you should think about this" and a full personal recommendation.
How should an IFA website prepare for dashboard-driven enquiries?
Build the dashboard-readiness work into a single sprint between now and the connection deadline. The work splits into four streams: content, capture, citation, and compliance, each small on its own. Your site probably covers parts of one or two already, but the point is to finish all four before October.
The four streams in practice:
- Content. Add an answer block for each of the five question clusters above, with explicit references to lost pensions, consolidation, charges, decumulation, and self-service suitability.
- Capture. Replace passive contact forms with a way to ask a question and leave details in the same flow. A widget that answers in plain English and captures the lead is the simplest version. See why contact forms are costing IFAs clients for the underlying conversion problem.
- Citation. Add FAQ schema markup, name your Chartered Financial Planner (CISI) or Chartered Financial Planner (CII) status, link to your FCA Register entry, and link out to authoritative primary sources such as fca.org.uk and gov.uk.
- Compliance. Make sure your dashboard-related content is consistent with Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) and references the targeted support boundary where relevant.
The capture stream is where most practices are weakest. A dashboard-prompted visitor at 9pm on a Sunday will not wait for office hours to ask their question. Our analysis of how IFA websites lose leads outside office hours sets out the scale of the leakage.
What FCA rules apply when clients act on dashboard data?
Acting on dashboard data is still subject to the FCA conduct rules and Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A), which apply to any communication that could lead to a transfer, consolidation or drawdown decision. Targeted support and the proposed simplified advice regime give firms more flexibility but do not lower the consumer protection standard.
The practical effect is that your IFA website can do far more in the dashboard era than it could before, without crossing the advice line. You can explain options, flag risks, run through trade-offs, and signpost to a personal advice conversation. What you cannot do is recommend a specific transfer or product without the relevant suitability work, which is covered in our piece on the FCA annual review changes and CP26/10 for IFA websites.
A pensions dashboard IFA website that does all of this becomes the natural next stop after the dashboard screen, and that is the conversion advantage. The firms that prepare in the next four months will be cited, ranked, and chosen during the launch window. The firms that do not will get the enquiries six weeks later, once the lead has already asked someone else.
FAQ
What is the pensions dashboard?
The pensions dashboard is a free online service, launching on MoneyHelper, that will let UK consumers see all of their pensions in one secure place. It will pull data from workplace, personal and State Pensions. The service is part of the Pensions Dashboards Programme overseen by the Money and Pensions Service (gov.uk, 2026), and the deadline for providers to connect is 31 October 2026.
When will the pensions dashboard launch in the UK?
The MoneyHelper public dashboard is expected to go live in late 2026 or early 2027, after the statutory connection deadline of 31 October 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Money and Pensions Service have signalled that the launch will be staged rather than a single date, with consumer access widening as testing completes. Commercial dashboards from authorised firms will follow the MoneyHelper launch.
Will the pensions dashboard give financial advice?
No, the MoneyHelper dashboard shows consumers what they have but will not recommend a product or course of action, and it will not give regulated financial advice. The service is designed to be neutral and to signpost users to MoneyHelper guidance, Pension Wise, or regulated advice from an FCA-authorised firm. Personal recommendations remain the regulated territory of advice firms.
Should I use the pensions dashboard before talking to a financial adviser?
Most people will, and there is no rule against it. Looking at the dashboard first can make the adviser conversation more productive because the values, pots and provider names are already in front of you. The risk is acting on dashboard data without checking for safeguarded benefits, fees, or tax consequences, which is why a regulated adviser conversation remains valuable before any transfer or consolidation.
How long does pension consolidation take after using the dashboard?
For a straightforward consolidation, the transfer process typically takes between two and twelve weeks once advice is given and the receiving scheme is in place. Defined Benefit transfers, schemes with guarantees, or providers that still use paper-based transfer-out processes can take significantly longer. The dashboard itself does not move money; transfers still happen between scheme administrators in the usual way.
Can I see my State Pension on the pensions dashboard?
Yes, State Pension data is part of the Pensions Dashboards ecosystem, and tens of millions of State Pension records have been added in the latest progress phase (Pensions Dashboards Programme, 2026). That means the dashboard will give a fuller retirement picture than checking a single workplace pension portal, with figures reflecting entitlement based on National Insurance records.
Get your IFA website ready before launch
If your site does not yet answer the five dashboard question clusters or capture leads outside office hours, you have roughly four months to fix it. ChatIFA is a self-hosted chat widget for IFA websites that answers visitor questions using your own content, captures lead details conversationally, and emails you when contact information is collected. The free tier on chatifa.co.uk includes 25 messages and does not need payment details, so you can test it on your own dashboard-readiness content before the public launch window opens.