Scottish Widows is expecting a new market in group pensions to grow in 2017, as bigger businesses reach their first auto-enrolment triennial reviews.
Auto-enrolment rules require companies to re-enroll all employees who have opted out every three years.
As the first big wave of businesses entered the auto-enrolment three years ago, there are currently a large number of businesses going through, or approaching, their first re-enrolment deadline.
Robert Cochran, senior corporate pensions specialist at Scottish Widows, said this would prompt businesses to review their auto-enrolment providers, renewing pressure on the latter to deliver a wider range of services.
“It’s likely that as a bigger group of employers hit their triennial reviews, the secondary market for group pensions will begin to grow and the broader workplace and digital offerings will play a bigger role,” he said.
He said Scottish Widows had been investing in its digital products, both for members and employers.
“In January, we’re launching a new consumer website which is built around lifestages and locates the right information for customers in a much simpler format,” he said.
“At the same time employers are already being rolled into a new look employer hub which will take the pain out of monthly contributions and give them a much better user experience."
He said consumer testing had revealed that members were looking for improvements in three areas: administrative tools to help them manage their pension, tools to help them plan for their retirement, and educational material.
“Our research also tells us that most policyholders don’t interact with their pension even once a year," he said.
"Digital app interaction within our parent company Lloyds Banking Group, however, has resulted in more than one billion log-ins in 2016.”
He said Scottish Widows was conducting research into how to get employees engaged in using this new technology.
He added Scottish Widows would also be “rolling out” broader workplace savings solutions.
“It will be really interesting to see the level of engagement with a new workplace Isa due to launch in 2017 and how customers respond to seeing their pension accumulation and flexi-drawdown pots side by side on the new digital interface,” he said.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
