PensionsApr 5 2022

Providers and schemes team up to push engagement with pensions

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by
Providers and schemes team up to push engagement with pensions

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) have coordinated an industry campaign to boost people’s understanding and engagement with their pensions.

The campaign, which will help over 30mn pension savers, is set to run in autumn and winter this year.

The two organisations said they want to help people understand the basics of pensions and as it evolves, savers will be able to see the campaign in different places, such as on social media and in a variety of digital and written communications from their pension schemes.

The campaign will share tips on how individuals can identify who their pension providers are, make sure contact details are up-to-date and check how much has been saved towards retirement. It will also help people prepare for pensions dashboards which will show savers all their pension pots in one place. 

Yvonne Braun, director of long-term savings policy at the Association of British Insurers, said: “We know that seven out of ten people find pensions overly complex and difficult to understand. This needs to change, fast. 

“Uniting pension providers and schemes around an engagement season focused on pension basics could have a real impact on people’s understanding of the importance of their pension and prepare the ground for pensions dashboards. It will also complement the government’s drive to increase engagement which we wholeheartedly support.”

With the help of the pension providers and schemes, it has a collective investment of at least £1mn for its organisation over the next three years, and a multiple of this amount in scheme and provider specific resources to further amplify the campaign. 

The organisations said this is the first time that so many pension providers and schemes across the UK, including the very largest, have united behind the same call to action over the same period. 

This action will reach savers who are in automatic enrolment schemes, defined benefit pensions, self-invested personal pensions, and those who have started withdrawing money from their pension and it will complement the work of the Department for Work and Pensions, the ABI and PLSA said.

Nigel Peaple, director of policy and advocacy, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said: “We have seen from the level of engagement with our retirement living standards and the national conversation it started, that savers want simple, jargon-free information to help them get their pension savings working for them. 

“By committing all corners of the pensions industry to pull together on a concentrated engagement campaign – and with the support of the Department for Work and Pensions – we have the potential to move the dial in helping savers understand their pension so that more people have a better income in retirement.”

No two people are the same

Research by ABI and PLSA found that only 20 per cent of people are confident they are saving enough for retirement and without any action to save more, millions of people risk not having enough money to meet their needs.

Despite initiatives to improve understanding and raise awareness among savers, engagement with pensions remains too low: over half of the public struggle to find their pension information.

The resources of the campaign will be made freely available to use by all those who wish to participate across the pensions industry, including employers, regulators, and government departments. 

Guy Opperman, pensions minister, said: “Engagement season will complement the crucial work already underway on pensions dashboards and simpler statements, helping savers get to grips with their pensions and bringing retirement saving into everyday conversation.”

“I warmly welcome this campaign from the ABI and PLSA and look forward to working together – and with other industry partners – to help bring about a step change in how the record number of Brits now saving for retirement engage with their pension.”

Other members of the industry welcomed the campaign too. 

Katharine Photiou, commercial director of workplace savings at Legal & General, said boosting people’s engagement with pensions is crucial if they are to have the retirement they expect. 

“No two people experience retirement in the same way and as a pensions industry it is on us all to make the whole process as simple as possible,” she said. 

“As we approach the 10 year anniversary of auto enrolment it’s clear we need a step change.”

The firms acting as sponsors for the campaign are Aviva, Standard Life - part of Phoenix Group, Royal London, Scottish Widows, Fidelity, L&G, Nest, Pru - part of M&G group, Smart Pensions, the People's Pension and Now: Pensions.

Supporting the campaign are Hargreaves Lansdown, Railpen, USS and Just. 

Jamie Jenkins, director of policy & external affairs at Royal London, said: “Navigating the world of pensions can be difficult, so it’s encouraging to see the industry pulling together to support savers and help them make sense of their retirement planning.

“Long term savings requires long term planning and by helping people create a better connection with their pension we can help achieve that. Research tells us that almost half of adults want their pension to be doing good in the world and by tapping into the broader awareness of responsible investing we can switch more savers on to the power of their pension.”

Jenkins said an industry wide campaign will help narrow the engagement gap and boost better later life planning.

Phil Brown, director of policy at B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension, added that this initiative is putting retirement savers at the heart of government strategy and will help to improve pension engagement by enabling the industry, as a whole, to communicate in a coordinated way.

“Since automatic enrolment was introduced nearly 10 years, more than 10 million people have been brought into pensions saving, making it all the more important that the message from providers is both consistent and straightforward.”

sonia.rach@ft.com

What do you think about the issues raised by this story? Email us on FTAletters@ft.com to let us know