Pension providers should follow the lead of online banking, the Association of British Insurers said, citing platforms as leading the way on clear communications for consumers.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Yvonne Braun, ABI director for long-term savings policy, said clearer communications are very important for the industry to develop and it is something the organisation has “kicked off” work to remedy already.
She said this was an industry-wide obligation and not something that the industry should expect consumers to do by themselves.
“This is an obligation largely for us - we can’t just say consumers have to understand; we have to make it as simple as possible.
“You can see how already in other areas of financial services things have become very, very simple with online bank accounts, it’s become very intuitive and I think ultimately that is where we need to get to on pension savings as well.”
Ms Braun added platforms are already making this simpler, in a similar vein to online bank accounts.
She said that we need to look at how we can get to a place where people can see all of their savings in one simple place.
“If you go to the Nordic countries it is a very, very attractive option for people to engage with their retirement savings, you have your unique electronic identifier, you log in you can see everything in one place - ultimately that is where we need to get to.
“The platforms are showing the way in that respect but it just needs to become simple and engaging, and I think we have a bit more of a way to go but the industry knows that.”
Ms Braun added that there were two different but related concepts at play; the first being to get to a pensions dashboard where a consumer can see everything, and the second being terminology that is simple.
“We want to work with those organisations that have a very positive role in this space, particularly The Pensions Advisory Service, Pension Wise, the Money Advice Service, the Personal Financial Society and the Chartered Insurance Institute.”
Ms Braun said she would like to see all those bodies link up more with eachother and also connect with the ABI.
“These are all bodies that have a role in either helping consumers or helping professions in the industry to communicate with consumers on products and pensions and the more we all speak with one language and the less jargon and UFPLS and other terms there are the easier it will be for people to engage with the whole subject, the whole pension issue, because it can be quite impenetrable I think.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
