Awareness is lowest among those closest to retirement, with 81% of those aged 55 to 64 and 87% of those aged 65 and over reporting that they had not heard of the initiative.

Encouragingly, there is greater awareness among younger age groups, with 18 to 24-year-olds being the most aware at 30%, followed by 35 to 44-year-olds at 25% and 25 to 34-year-olds at 22%.

Huw Evans, head of insurance at KPMG UK, said: “Pensions dashboards are very important for people who are still saving for retirement, so it is encouraging to see higher levels of awareness among younger age groups.

“Those closer to retirement may already feel they have a handle on their pensions, which could explain lower awareness in those age groups.

“There is a lot more to do to drive up awareness and explain how dashboards will help people save into pensions, understand potential future retirement income and track down lost pension pots.”

Despite low awareness, consumers are positive about engaging with the dashboard once it goes live. More than half (53%) of UK adults say they would be likely to use it, with interest highest among those aged 35 to 44, where 71% said they would be likely to use it.

Among those who say they are likely to use the dashboard, the majority expect to access it quickly – 53% say they would check it within the first month of launch, with 35% intending to do so within the first month and 18% within the first two to three weeks.

However, 13% of UK adults say they are very unlikely to use the pensions dashboard. The top reasons that would put people off are concerns about the security of personal and financial data (31%), worries about being targeted with unsolicited financial products or advertising (28%), and not seeing the point because they feel they already know roughly what they have saved (21%).

When asked what would encourage them to use the pensions dashboard, respondents pointed to a range of factors. Being able to see all their pensions in one place came out top, cited by 22%, closely followed by confidence that their data is secure and protected (21%).

Clear information about how much money they might have in retirement and being able to track how their pension is growing over time were each mentioned by 18% of respondents. An easy login and simple digital experience, along with knowing the dashboard is backed by the government or regulated bodies, were each cited by 17%.

Mr Evans added: “Pensions dashboards have the potential to be a powerful tool; helping people to better understand the value of both their state and private pensions and make informed decisions for the future.

“The pensions sector and the Pensions Dashboards programme have worked tirelessly to connect over 60 million records to date, but the scale of the task has inevitably meant that promotion has taken a back seat.

“Our research is a reminder that the work must start now to step up awareness of pensions dashboards, especially among the age groups closest to retirement.”