Kelly Hurren: AI has the potential to improve understanding and engagement – but it also introduces new risks
Artificial intelligence (AI) will become a significant part of how members navigate retirement but introduces risks as well as having the potential to improve understanding and engagement, latest Aon research finds.
In a paper on AI and retirement planning – Understanding the Use and Impact of AI in Retirement Decision Making – the firm noted that, according to the Financial Conduct Authority's latest Financial Lives Survey, only 8.6% of UK adults received regulated financial advice in 2024.
But it said 73% of UK adults now use AI tools in their daily lives and that as many as 80% of working adults would consider using AI for pensions or investment advice – adding that AI tools could be well placed to help close the advice gap as they were free to access, always on, and instantly available at scale.
To explore the role AI is playing in retirement decision making currently, Aon put itself in members' shoes – drawing on retirement packs for real members and using the same educational modelling tools that schemes make available.
It ran real-life cases through AI via its secure in‑house platform – replicating the questions, uncertainties, and decision points a member might face.
For these members, it then compared the AI outputs with the advice they had actually received – including adviser call transcripts and recommendation reports – allowing it to better understand the value placed on human advice versus AI, where they complement each other, and where they contrast.
Aon's report showed the results were mixed. It said: "At its best, AI produced clear explanations and intuitive support that could sit well alongside a human conversation. However, we also identified material risks: incorrect calculations, inconsistent recommendations, overconfident delivery, and a tendency to present speculation as fact."
Its report highlighted its findings and set out what schemes and employers can do now to support members in an evolving digital reality – saying that, among other things, they should equip members to use AI safely and critically.
Aon said this support could include communicating to members about the risks of using AI for their retirement planning, signposting other available support and encouraging members to verify AI output with scheme resources or advisers.
It said schemes should also review member communications to see how well materials stand up when summarised by AI tools and review scheme and employer websites – checking whether there is any out-of-date information that could be repeated back to members.
The report suggested earlier engagement could also help – noting that, by the time members reach retirement age, they were often already "anchored" to a retirement decision and engage less with human support and advice.
It said, as such, schemes and employers should consider ways to increase member engagement earlier in their retirement journey, for example by providing online modellers that let members explore their retirement options; targeted, personalised communications at key ages and decision points; and by making support more accessible through scheme websites and video walk-throughs.
Commenting on the report, Aon partner Kelly Hurren said: "The advice gap remains a significant challenge in UK retirement planning – and Aon has supported many schemes and employers in addressing it.
"In Understanding the Use and Impact of AI in Retirement Decision Making, we looked at the issue of planning and placed AI output and human advice side by side. It has provided us with some fascinating insights into how members' retirement decision-making may be changing as AI use continues to become more mainstream.
"The results were mixed, but it's clear that AI will become a significant part of how members navigate retirement. It has the potential to improve understanding and engagement – but it also introduces new risks. We believe that schemes and employers which recognise this early can shape and support strategies that blend the best of digital capability with human expertise."
