People were more likely to consider their pension situation when prompted to do so by a letter from the government, a study conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found.
Phone interviews conducted around two months after the letter was sent revealed that those who received the letter were more likely to be aware of the state pension changes.
Exposure to the letter also prompted people to pay more attention to campaign activity, such as radio adverts.
But the report noted that while letters may have a short term impact on awareness, it was difficult to know what kind of long term impact this approach would have.
It said: “The direct mail had some impact across a range of measures, from awareness through to claimed behaviours. These changes were measured over a short-time period and the longer-term impact cannot be assessed in this evaluation.”
The report concluded that a cost-benefit analysis to the direct mail approach would be taken before further roll out by the DWP.
In April 2016 the government changed state pension rules so that eligibility became based on National Insurance (NI) contributions. In order to receive the full £155.65 per week individuals would need to have paid NI for at least 35 years.
FTAdviser reported at the time that many over-55s were confused or completely unaware about the new rules and how it would affect the entitlement.
A random group of 10,000 adults who had fewer than 27 years of National Insurance contributions and who were reaching the State Pension age within 15 years of April 2016 were sent a letter outlining the changes to the state pension.
In order to evaluate the impact of the letter a control group received an alternative letter asking if they wold like to opt out of the trial, but contained no information about the state pension changes.
julia.faurscou@ft.com
