The pensions industry must do more to understand and support the people it is seeking to help, say pension experts.
At a recent Pension Playpen’s meeting, Simon Chrystal, CEO of WPS Advisory, and Kevin Hollister, founder of Guiide, led the discussion around whether the industry needs to educate members or focus on educating itself.
Hollister said: “For people retiring in the 2020s, there are a number of very complex decisions to be made which extend throughout retirement itself. We know that people are looking for help. When asked why, around four in five people have told us that they did not get enough support from where they would expect to turn first e.g their employer, scheme or provider.
“As an industry, we should perhaps spend less time looking at issues which do not seem to be a key focus for the people whose futures we are here to protect. Ultimately, people just want help in understanding if what they have can get them what they need in retirement.”
Chrystal said good engagement remains an ongoing problem for the industry, despite its attempts to overcome the issue.
He noted: “Listening to people and learning is key as well as an acknowledgement that to the average person, retirement is not about products or investments, it’s about their hopes, fears and dreams. If somebody gets to retirement and then realises that they can’t retire or not in the way they had hoped, who is ultimately responsible?
“Understanding pensions shouldn’t be insurmountable. People succeed when it comes to things like buying a house and other complex key life decisions. But the topic of pensions remains overwhelming for too many – as an industry we are failing on getting our message across.”
Chrystal said that for the industry to succeed, it must learn more about the people it wishes to help. Individuals need to be able to relate to the future vision of their life and this can only be done if their story is understood with the pension jargon and terminology put to one side.
Chrystal added: “We’ve not met a person yet who will look back on their life and say that GMP equalization was the transforming factor for their pension, it will be whether they achieved the retirement they hoped for.”
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