Pension scheme administrators are increasingly concerned about data security ahead of the launch of the new Pensions Dashboards.

Data ownership and control were the top priorities for administrators when selecting service providers for the dashboards, according to a new report.

Data security was the highest concern for both third-party administrators and in-house administered pension schemes.

The responsibility for member data remains with trustees under the rules surrounding Pensions Dashboards, with schemes needing to evidence their data is in safe hands.

The first 'staging' cohort for the government-backed Pensions Dashboards - designed to be an all-in-one location for pension savers' retirement plans - is scheduled for launch in April.

The majority of third-party administrators (60%) and pension schemes (80%) said they planned to select an integrated service provider to meet their staging deadline, according to the report from fintech Bravura Solutions.

Lesley Carline, director at KGC Associates who conducted the research for Bravura, said: “This is an incredibly important topic for the financial services sector as the next step in giving individuals greater freedom, visibility and control over their pensions. However, the Pensions Dashboards Programme has been a long time coming because it is not a simple undertaking. Finding and presenting pensions data from multiple sources, including schemes, platforms and providers, in one place is no mean feat.

“Today’s white paper shows pension scheme administrators still have a lot to get to grips with by next spring. To live up to the expectations of pension savers and the government, pension schemes and providers will need to make sure their data, systems and processes are in order well ahead of the connection deadline.” 

Bravura and KGC interviewed 17 third-party pension administrators and eight large in-house administered pension schemes.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) warned pension trustees they need to prepare now for the arrival of Pension Dashboards amid signs few were ready in June. 

The Pensions Regulator has also launched a new campaign and new guidance to alert all trustees to the changes coming so they can prepare.

According to TPR research, 51% of Defined Contribution (DC) schemes and 33% of Defined Benefit (DB) schemes continued to hold at least some member records non-electronically in June and just 4% of Defined Contribution (DC) schemes and 9% of Defined Benefit (DB) schemes have begun to digitise the information they hold in preparation for the dashboards.