• Home
  • Admin/Tech
  • Benefits
  • Buzz
  • DB
  • DC
  • Diversity
  • Investment
  • Law & regulation
  • Risk reduction
  • Events
  • Whitepapers
  • Spotlights
  • Digital Edition
  • PPTV
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
    •  

      You are currently accessing ProfessionalPensions via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

      Email: [email protected]

      • Sign in
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      Defined Contribution Conference

      Professional Pensions Defined Contribution virtual event, hopes to take stock of the last year, and ask the important questions; are members saving enough and have we improved the member journey at retirement? This two part digital event will provide you with the latest thinking and innovation in the DC market during our snappy 15 minute presentations, with plenty of time to ask questions during our live speaker Q&A.

      • Date: 20 Apr 2021
      • Digital Conference
      event logo
      Webinar: PP Talks - Fiduciary Management

      This PP Talks webinar will ask how fiduciary managers coped with the Covid-19 challenge, how fiduciary management clients generally fared, and the outlook for the year ahead.

      • Date: 05 May 2021
      • Webinar
      event logo
      Webinar: The challenges facing open DB schemes

      This webinar will help trustees and pension managers look at the challenges facing open DB schemes, specifically looking at the issues they could face as a result of The Pension Regulator’s new Funding Code of Practice and asking how this could affect the affordability of benefits, future service contributions, investment strategy and benefit design.

      • Date: 06 May 2021
      • Webinar
      event logo
      Webinar: Supporting members retirement plans as we emerge from the pandemic

      The pandemic has affected the retirement plans of many. Some have been forced into an early retirement because of redundancy, whilst others have delayed retirement due to their pension losing value. Those who have struggled with a reduced household income, have even been dipping into their pensions whilst still working to make up for the shortfall.This webinar will uncover the steps that can be taken to support pension scheme members in the lead up to and at retirement.

      • Date: 11 May 2021
      • Webinar
      View all events
      Follow our Professional Pension Events

      Sign up to receive email alerts about our events

      Sign up

  • Whitepapers
    • How DC schemes can gain exposure to different asset classes in a low-return environment

      So far, DC plans have largely been focused on the onset of auto-enrolment and changes to the regulatory framework - be it the ‘charge cap,' ‘pension freedoms' or consultations around ‘value for money', says Annabel Tonry, Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM).

      Download
      Pension freedoms three years on

      In 2015 George Osborne, then the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, decided that those age over 55 could take much more of their pension in cash. This has since opened up a range of possibilities for DC scheme members in the world of pensions.

      Download
      Find whitepapers
      Search by title or subject area
      View all whitepapers
  • Spotlights
  • Digital Edition
Professional Pensions
Professional Pensions
Sponsored by T. Rowe Price
  • Home
  • Admin/Tech
  • Benefits
  • Buzz
  • DB
  • DC
  • Diversity
  • Investment
  • Law & regulation
  • Risk reduction
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
  •  

    You are currently accessing ProfessionalPensions via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

    Email: [email protected]

    • Sign in
  • Defined Contribution

Pension Awareness Day: Six tips for member engagement

Pension Awareness Day: Six tips for member engagement
  • Kim Kaveh
  • Kim Kaveh
  • 14 September 2018
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

Experts have called for trustees to improve pension communications using psychological and administrative techniques ahead of the fourth annual Pensions Awareness Day.

This week, a double-decker bus has been steered across the country in a bid to get everyone talking about pensions, ending its journey in London tomorrow (15 September), Pension Awareness Day.

Created by Pension Geeks and Scottish Widows, the day is designed to help members understand how much they will need in retirement, and what they need to do to reach their savings goals.

Related articles

  • Embracing the trusteeship of E, S and G
  • Perspective DocWatch (legislation and regulatory materials) - February 2021
  • Sammons Salary Survey 2020: Confidence over career moves growing
  • Green gilts to become 'one stop shop' for scheme needs despite 'greenium' and 'greenwashing' fears

However, trustees also play a big part in driving member engagement. So what methods are most effective?

  1. Use YOU and not WE, and be present

Stop being so self-obsessed and stamp out your use of "we" and "our" in your communications, says Behave London founder and director Hannah Lewis.

"You're creating psychological distance for the member and making it hard to relate to what you're asking them to do. Stop talking about yourself, your company, your scheme, and start talking about them - the member."

Lewis also suggests writing in the present tense, and using actionable language such as "go, get, have, and do".

Like Minds senior communication consultant Banafsheh Ghafoori adds trustees should ensure their language suits members' characteristics and backgrounds, arguing most people engage better when they feel they are being spoken to in their style and with them, rather than at them.

"Conversational style can usually help with this and also explain complex pension jargon. It removes that teacher-student behaviour, and opens it up for members to ask the questions they have been too nervous to ask before."

  1. Do not make assumptions about member knowledge

Trustees should be mindful of how members wish to engage and how much they know about pensions, adds Ghafoori.

"If they are not sending information in a format which members want, when they want or at the frequency they want, trustees may actually end up disengaging their members."

She adds that if members are given an overload of complex pensions information, trustees run the risk that members could ignore the communication, make bad decisions or destroy it: "Trustees should decide the detail they want to provide, versus what they should provide."

  1. Administration

Administration teams can definitely support a communication strategy, according to Pensions Administration Standards Association's (PASA) Geraldine Brassett, who is chairwoman of its industry policy committee, and guaranteed minimum pension and pensions dashboard working groups.

"If, for example, a member requests a retirement quote or other readily-available online information, administrators should take the time to walk the member through the log-on and access process, leaving members confident enough to access this information independently."

There is often a tendency to compartmentalise the communication and administration consultancies, whereas sometimes better outcomes can be achieved by looking at the end-to-end process and the bigger picture, Brassett adds.

  1. Manipulate their view

Lewis suggests trustees heed the conclusions of behavioural research, pointing particularly to a study named Life expectancy as a constructed belief, which looks at people's views around longevity.

"In essence, how long people estimate that they will ‘live to' can be changed by whether you ask them what the probability is that they will ‘live to 85' or ‘die by 85'," Lewis says. "As you may have guessed, if you ask someone how long they will ‘live to' they think they are going to live longer than if you ask them about dying - which is useful if you want them to consider how much they will need to save."

  1. Design and visual aids

Including infographics, statistics, trends, and illustrations could all help members digest information and not create a "sense of fear", Ghafoori notes.

She adds: "Statistics and trends can also increase member confidence and allow them to feel comfortable with their decision as they are known to provide members a sense of normalcy.

"Breaking information down into small portions and steps reduces the beaten feeling members have when they're faced with pension decisions. This also allows trustees to easily highlight actions required by their members."

There is no point sending pages of written material in the post if members get their other information mainly on social media, according to PASA chairwoman Margaret Snowdon, who adds "a picture paints a thousand words".

  1. Cultivate an engaging first line

The opening line of a letter or email needs to tell members exactly what you want them to do, says Lewis: "No more vague assertions. No torturously slow paragraphs of preamble. Get to the point."

If it's a wake-up pack, write "it's time to make a decision about your retirement" right at the top, she suggests.

"Then tell the member what to do with that information. Do they need to change their retirement age? Tell them that. Give them a form that says ‘CHANGE MY RETIREMENT AGE' in a huge font.  Be obvious."

This week, PP gauged the views of its Pensions Buzz peers on what they believed trustees should do to better communicate with scheme members. Here is what they said:

  • Launch a crusade for financial education to be GCSE and, perhaps, A-level core subjects
  • Create a member pensions committee in the workplace to meet with a subset of trustees on a regular basis.
  • A direct comparison of their current pay package with their potential pension inflation-proofed to today
  • Canvass members' views more often rather than acting in response to government changing policy
  • Hold regular group face-to-face informative sessions for all employees during normal working hours
  • Engage with social media and stop using the word ‘pension'
  • Introduce retirement workshops for new joiners, mid-career and retiring workers
  • Let members know how much they can take from their DC pension pot each year before they run out of money
  • Require members to go through a retirement scenario-planning session when they join the scheme

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Defined Contribution
  • pensions awareness day
  • Like Minds
  • Behave London
  • engagement
  • TT
  • Trustees
  • Scottish Widows
  • Hannah Lewis
  • Geraldine Brassett
  • Margaret Snowdon
  • Banafsheh Ghafoori
  • HR

More on Defined Contribution

Greater clarity on performance fee calculations welcomed but 'devil is in the detail'
'Headaches' ahead for DC illiquid investment over 'fiendish complexities' of performance fees despite charge cap inclusion

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has welcomed plans to incorporate performance fees in the charge cap, but the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) warned performance fees are “not the only headache” for defined contribution (DC)...

  • Defined Contribution
  • 19 April 2021
Savova: “We’re delighted that so many of our customers wish to join us as shareholders."
PensionBee draws 12,000 customer sign-ups for IPO with estimated market cap of £348m

Around 12,000 PensionBee users have registered for shares in the company after it confirmed its initial public offering (IPO) would comprise an offer to both institutional investors and eligible customers.

  • Defined Contribution
  • 12 April 2021
 Catherine Gill
Industry Voice: The master plan

In Newton’s latest DC column, Catherine Gill explores how master trusts can evolve their investment strategies against a changing backdrop

  • Defined Contribution
  • 07 April 2021
Consolidation in DC is continuing with the total number of non-micro and hybrid schemes falling by 10% in 2020
TPR data reveals further consolidation in occupational DC market

The occupational defined contribution (DC) market consolidated further in 2020 with the number of trust-based plans falling substantially during the year, latest data from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) reveals.

  • Defined Contribution
  • 31 March 2021
AE contributions must rise to 12% to put the UK on par with the rest of the OECD countries, TISA says.
UK mandatory pension provision half OECD average

Auto-enrolment (AE) contributions must rise to 12% to put the UK on par with the rest of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA) says.

  • Defined Contribution
  • 25 March 2021
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Exclusive: ITM acquires Profund Solutions from Mercer
Exclusive: ITM acquires Profund Solutions from Mercer
Three in court in connection with £14m pension fraud
Three in court in connection with £14m pension fraud
Broadstone acquires Quattro Pensions
Broadstone acquires Quattro Pensions
Exclusive: Trustees trapped by base level analysis choosing fiduciary managers
Exclusive: Trustees trapped by base level analysis choosing fiduciary managers
Cosan Consulting launches independent pension scheme data recovery service
Cosan Consulting launches independent pension scheme data recovery service
Trustpilot

 

  • Contact Us
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms and conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • YouTube

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading