Pension providers and schemes join forces to boost the nation’s engagement with pensions

Over 30 million pension savers will be supported by a co-ordinated industry campaign, led by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), to boost people’s understanding and engagement with their pensions. Only 20% of people are confident they are saving enough for retirement[1] and without any action to save more, millions of people risk not having enough money to meet their needs.

Despite considerable efforts and 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.[2] The campaign, which will run in autumn/winter this year, aims to help people understand the basics of pensions. As it evolves, savers will be able to see the campaign in different places, for instance on social media and in a variety of digital and written communications from their pension schemes. The campaign will share tips on how to identify who your pension providers are, make sure contact details are up-to-date and check how much you have saved towards retirement. It will also help people prepare for pensions dashboards which will show savers all their pension pots in one place.

Fifteen providers and schemes representing approximately 41.5 million savers and customers have committed to support the campaign, with a collective investment of at least £1 million 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. 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 concerted action will reach tens of millions of savers who are in automatic enrolment schemes, defined benefit pensions, self-invested personal pensions, and those who have started withdrawing money from their pension. The campaign will complement the work of the Department for Work and Pensions.

The resources of the campaign will be widely promoted and made freely available to use by all those who wish to participate right across the pensions industry, including employers, regulators, and government departments. It is hoped the approach will help encourage people to engage more with existing pensions communications, save more to achieve a higher income in retirement, and encourage people to review their retirement options, consider opportunities to consolidate, and see how and where their pension is invested.

Guy Opperman, Minister for Pensions, UK Government 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.”

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.[3] 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.”

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.”

Sponsors:

• Aviva
• Standard Life
• Scottish Widows
• Nest
• Royal London
• Pru
• Fidelity
• The People's Pension
• Smart Pension
• Legal & General
• NOW: Pensions

Supporters:

• Hargreaves Lansdown
• Railpen
• USS
• Just

[1] Source: PLSA Retirement Living Standards

[2] Source: ABI and Britain Thinks consumer research on pensions dashboards

[3] Source: ABI and Britain Thinks consumer research on pensions dashboards

Mark Smith, Senior PR Manager
020 7601 1726 | [email protected]

Steven Kennedy, Senior PR Manager
020 7601 1737 | 07713 073024 | [email protected]