With just under eight months to go until the first deadline to connect to the pensions dashboards’ ecosystem, find out what challenges the industry is grappling with as the race to connect gathers pace.
As we prepare for the return of Pensions Dashboards Week next month (23-27 Sep), we sat down with one of our speakers, Karen Bolan, Retirement Communications Director at Gallagher’s Communication Consulting Practice (pictured below), to discuss how she thinks dashboards will change the pensions industry and engagement with members.
Why does the pensions industry need to tailor communication to individual members?
Karen Bolan (KB): “In order to get members to take notice of any communication we have with them, the messaging needs to be relevant. It’s vital that when we connect, the action we want members to take is completely clear. We all have busy lives and only relevant messages will be taken notice of. That’s why one size fits all communications rarely have any effect. To be effective communications must be relevant, timely and, preferably personalised.”
How else can the pensions industry look to address the current engagement gap?
Karen Bolan (KB): “We need to be relevant and timely in our communications. Meeting members where they are on their retirement journey and providing clear calls to action to help improve outcomes for members is critical. Personalisation definitely helps with this and done correctly, dashboards could play a major role in engaging members.
We also need to get the message across to people that planning for a financially secure life after they have stopped working is something they need to consider now. Putting it off for another day only leads to disappointing outcomes”
Do you think providers have a greater role to play in educating members about their pensions and benefits?
Karen Bolan (KB): “I think that everyone has a part to play in educating members about their pensions and benefits – providers, employers, trustees. It’s in all our interests that members know what benefits are available and how to get the most from them. If we don’t then we will be facing a tsunami of employees who cannot afford to stop working and an employment system where employers cannot force an employee to retire. That has significant consequences for businesses and society as a whole.”
In your view, what will be the impact of pensions dashboards in terms of member engagement? What scenarios do you see play out?
Karen Bolan (KB): “I think that there is a very real danger that members will think “So what?” Or, panic and call their administrator to ask them to explain what it is all about. To date the industry has concentrated on the technology and data side of the dashboard. Very little attention has been given to how we educate and inform members what the dashboard is and how they should use the information it provides. This is the vital piece of the jigsaw that will determine whether dashboards are a useful tool for members or just another tick box exercise for the industry.”
If you could change one thing about the pensions industry, what would it be?
Karen Bolan (KB): “Take politics out of pensions. Having a Pensions Minister aligned to one party with a limited tenure does nothing to help long term financial planning for millions of people. Pensions provision is a long-term issue that needs to have long-term thinking applied to it.”
Karen Bolan will be speaking during Monday’s session (Pensions 2045: Understanding the voice of the consumer, 11am 23rd Sept) at Pensions Dashboards Week, alongside Kim Gubler (PASA), Rosie Lacey (PMI), Ellie Tembras (Zippen); and Bravura’s Propositions Lead Jonathan Hawkins.
If you haven’t signed up to any of the events we are running throughout the week, you can see all the sessions and register for your free place here.
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