Why the status quo is no longer acceptable in the pensions industry

Prior to this past year, a shift to digital engagement was already happening. According to Pensions Age, from 2009 to 2018 the proportion of UK adults over 50 who reported regularly using the internet rose from 41% to 74%.  

As membership grows and more members are not only comfortable, but expect a digital first experience, the pension sector must stay up to date or risk being left behind – especially with the rise of industry disruptors who are leading with a digital first approach.  

A core assumption of internet savvy generations, is that the responsibility to maintain and protect personal information lies with the organisation they interact with. Which is in contrast to how many pension schemes work today. They put the onus on the member to keep them up to date with changes in data.  

What can pension funds do to keep up with this new digital-first expectation, and how can they improve their member experience without adding friction or increasing operational or time costs?  

The top areas we recommend to focus on are: 

Data accuracy  

Data accuracy has been a long-standing issue within pensions, historically scheme specific data has been the main point of focus but in recent times the accuracy of common data has caught the attention of the government and regulators. With the status quo being heavily reliant on outbound engagement, pension funds need to improve the level of inbound engagement from their members. We take a deeper look at how you can do that in this post.  

Being proactive with member engagement 

What would it look like if pension funds were proactive instead of reactive, and preventative over being remedial? We share insights that we’ve gathered through working with some of the UK’s top pension schemes that will enable your fund to become proactive with member engagement in this post.  

Improving their member experience with a shift to digital identity verification 

A digital-first approach is no longer the future for organisations around the world. And with more and more industries leading with this it’s now the norm and an expectation from consumers. So how can the pension industry catch up? And what are the benefits they can reap as a result? You can find out more in this post.  

How GBG can help with your member engagement 

Our data and software solutions optimise your member data, enable digital contact strategies and proactively identify member life events to support your regulatory requirements and transform engagement strategies to improve member experience and reduce operational costs. If you would like to find out more or chat with a pensions expert don’t hesitate to get in touch.