Smart Pension, a master trust with almost half a million members, is launching a mobile app that will replace the traditional paper annual report.
Instead, the scheme members will have access to a daily interactive video featuring talking avatars and animated financial illustrations, starting next month, when the app goes live both on iOS and Android smartphones.
Savers will be able not only to track their pension balance in real time on their phone, but also to select the funds they are investing in and increasing their contribution levels when they can afford it.
The app is part of a drive by the provider to use emerging technology and multiple big data sources to engage with a new generation of savers, brought into pensions via auto enrolment.
Introduced in 2012, auto-enrolment has now reached more than nine million people, according to data from The Pensions Regulator.
According to Will Wynne, Smart Pension's managing director and co-founder, "millennials and the younger generation organise their lives with their phones".
He said: "They have high expectations of how intuitive, transparent and seamless their mobile interactions are, especially when it comes to their money.
"You've only got to look at how online banking has transformed the industry to see there is currently a gaping hole in the pensions space for technology.
"Pensions on the other hand have never traditionally been intuitive or easy-to-use, and that is going to be a big problem moving forward if it doesn't change.
"The issue the industry must solve is keeping this new generation engaged and saving - and technology has the power to do that."
The launch of the app follows another technological innovation announced in February, with Smart Pension members being able to use Amazon's Echo family of home hub smart speaker devices to ask several questions about their savings, and make changes to their pension contributions.
The provider has also developed a dedicated in-house tech team, which will be responsible for new innovations, which are expected to be launched on a quarterly basis.
Smart Pension is developing solutions such as using machine learning/artificial intelligence to predict customer queries, auto-generated personalised quasi-video reports, and confirming remote actions taken by members via messages through Facebook or Whatsapp, among other projects.
Mr Wynne added: "We see technology playing an increasingly important role in helping savers make informed financial decisions that will lead to good retirement outcomes.
"With our technology, we can give our members control and daily updates on their balance so they can manage their pensions in the same way they would their bank account."
maria.espadinha@ft.com
