A digital interface where people can view all their retirement savings in one place will be launched by 2019, the Treasury said in its budget documents yesterday.
It said pension savings could become confusing as people changed jobs, and pots could be difficult to track.
"To help the next generation clearly view their pensions savings, the government will ensure the industry designs, funds and launches a pensions dashboard by 2019," said the document.
Critics have previously pressed the government for the dashboard - among them, consumer website Which?.
Richard Lloyd, the website's executive director, said: "We hope the industry uses the next three years to ensure it is a well-tested, market-wide pensions and savings dashboard that will help all consumers make sound financial decisions on retirement income."
Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The strength of the industry's support for the dashboard is matched only by its inability to actually agree who's going to build it and how. Hopefully the Treasury's leadership will make the difference in getting this project off the ground."
Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, welcomed the news and believed the dashboard should enable individuals to see all their retirement savings, state and private, in one place.
He said: "The committee has been pushing for a pensions dashboard, which will help people plan better for retirement. I am delighted the government has committed to a timetable for its creation."
Malcolm McLean, senior consultant at Barnett Waddingham, described the product as "very desirable". He believed it should make consumers better informed and enable them to cover shortfalls in their pension provision with more confidence.