Pensions Bulletin 2022/41

• MaPS annual report and accounts reveals significant pensions dashboards spend
• Laura Trott MP is the new Pensions Minister

MaPS annual report and accounts reveals significant pension dashboard spend

The Money and Pensions Service has published its annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 showing another significant increase in its overall expenditure (to £150.4m, compared with £139.4m in the previous year). It appears that the largest contributor to this increase is the cost involved in running the pensions dashboards project.

The report explains that MaPS operates two pension streams:

• The pension freedom service – relating to the Pension Wise guidance provided to those who have DC pension pots and who need to understand their options in order to make an informed decision when taking their benefits. This delivered 204,432 sessions – down by just over 11,000 on last year
• The pension guidance service – covering a wide range of pensions-related matters. This service delivered 185,850 sessions – down by over 42,000 on last year

Despite these falls in activity MaPS explains that the cost of running the pension freedom service increased from £28.3m to £35.4m, whilst its pension guidance service cost £10.6m (up from £8.1m). Both are significantly above the budgeted figures of £31.6m and £8.2m respectively.

MaPS says that taken together expenditure increased by £9.4m but had pensions dashboard-related expenditure been excluded there would have been a £3.9m fall on a like for like basis.

Comment

MaPS appears to be reluctant to spell out how much delivering the pensions dashboard cost in the year to 31 March 2022, but it seems to be around the £13.5m mark, which if so is significantly above its budget of £9.0m. What is not clear is how this cost is being divided up between the pensions industry.

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Laura Trott MP is the new Pensions Minister

After a period of speculation, it has been confirmed that Laura Trott MP has been given the pensions portfolio at the Department for Work and Pensions. Her portfolio is slightly different, and looks somewhat reduced, from both her immediate short-serving predecessor, Alex Burghart, who has moved to the Cabinet Office, as well as from Guy Opperman, who was Pensions Minister before that, and has returned to the DWP, but has moved up a grade and is now Minister of State for Employment.

Comment

The new minister became an MP in the 2019 general election and had not previously been known to have an interest in pensions, so what agenda she will set is yet to be seen.

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