To ask the Assembly Commission when MLA pensions will be uploaded and available on the Moneyhelper Pensions Dashboard, given the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee is already on it.

This is an issue for the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme Trustees rather than the Assembly Commission. The Trustees are working in conjunction with the third-party pension administrator, ISIO, who is managing connection of the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme to the dashboard system on the Trustees behalf. ISIO will be responsible for dealing with all technical queries and providing Members with help and guidance as the project progresses.

The connection of pension schemes to the MoneyHelper Pension Dashboard is governed by the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022, supported by guidance issued by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and The Pensions Regulator. These regulations establish a staged timetable for schemes to connect, based on the scheme type and size, with a final statutory connection deadline of 31 October 2026.

While it is recognised that some larger schemes have already connected, in line with their assigned staging dates, the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) is scheduled to be connected to the dashboard system by 31 August 2026.

However, it should be noted that although all schemes will connect by 31 October 2026, pension data will not be accessible to Members until the MoneyHelper Pension Dashboard is formally made available the public, the date of which will be determined by the Secretary of State once all schemes have connected and the system is fully tested. The Government has confirmed that at least six months’ notice will be provided ahead of the public launch.