The idea of a pensions dashboard allowing savers to view the value of all their pensions in one place was first introduced by campaign group Which? earlier this year.

In the March Budget, the government gave the pensions industry a deadline of 2019 to introduce the pensions dashboard after statistics revealed that the average person will move employers 11 times in their working life. This means they could end up with nearly a dozen private pensions by the time they retire.

Today, the economic secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby MP, has announced that a prototype of the pensions dashboard will be ready by March 2017.

Eleven of the largest pension providers have agreed to build the first pilot: Aviva, Aon, HSBC, LV=, NEST, Now: Pensions, People’s Pension, Royal London, Standard Life, Zurich and Willis Towers Watson.

And the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has agreed to manage the pilot scheme.

It is hoped pension dashboards will help savers plan for their retirement more effectively.  The Department for Work and Pensions estimates there is currently £400bn worth of “lost” pensions savings lying unclaimed. See YourMoney.com’s 4-minute video on how to find and consolidate your lost pensions.

Economic secretary, Simon Kirby, said: “Pensions and savings decisions are some of the most important a person will make during their lifetime. The government is determined to make sure people can access the information they need to plan effectively for their future.

“Technology, like mobile phone apps, has made day-to-day banking easier than it’s ever been and it is time for pensions to catch up. Think of a future where you can compare your pension pots with the touch of a button.

“The pensions dashboard will unlock a huge amount of information that will help people make the best choices for them and I am delighted that eleven of the largest pension providers have agreed to work together to build a working prototype by March 2017.”

The announcement comes after the government launched a consultation on the new Pensions Advice Allowance earlier this month.

This allowance, which will come into force from April 2017, will allow people nearing retirement to take up to £500 out of their pension pots tax-free to put towards the cost of financial advice.

It means that an individual can receive advice on all the financial products that contribute towards their retirement income, such as multiple pension pots and other assets like ISA savings.