The FCA has opened a consultation into new guidance to be added to its Perimeter Guidance Manual (PERG) as the much-delayed Pension Dashboards Programme continues to inch forwards.

The new guidance has been designed by the regulator to help firms understand the scope of Pension Dashboards and when they will require permission to operate one.

The FCA plans to make the Pensions Dashboards a regulated activity. To pave the way for this the Government recently amended the Regulated Activities Order to bring the operation of a Pensions Dashboard service within the scope of FCA regulation.

By bringing Dashboards into the scope of the FCA, operating one is now a new regulated activity.

The FCA recommended that all firms who provide pensions and retirement planning services read the suggested changes to the PERG.

The FCA has called for feedback to its new consultation by 8 May, with the new updated Manual expected to be published towards the end of this year.

The consultation can be found on the FCA website

Earlier this week the Department for Work and Pensions published an updated timetable for occupational pension schemes and personal and stakeholder providers to be connected to the Pensions Dashboard.

Connections are due to start in April 2025, giving the first schemes to connect more than a year to ensure they're ready ahead of the October 2026 launch deadline.

All 3,000 schemes covered in the first wave will be legally required to be connected to the dashboard system by 31 October 2026 at the latest.

The Pensions Dashboard Programme has faced severe delays.

Dashboards were originally due to begin in a test form in 2023 but have proven to be much more technically complex than originally thought.