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Workplace savers are clear; they want help planning for retirement. The Mercer Master Trust’s 2025 member survey1 finds nearly three-quarters of respondents expect they’ll need financial advice to understand their retirement options. Independent research from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)2 adds a vital detail: about a third of defined contribution (DC) members want advice that looks across all their pension pots and their wider retirement finances. The demand is real.
Who engages — and who does not
So, what’s the issue? Here’s the inconvenient truth. Access to professional help is too often decided by who can afford it or who can cope with the perceived effort — not by who needs it most. PPI analysis3 is clear: cost and perceived effort too often prevent people from actually asking for help. Men, higher earners and those with larger pots are more likely to engage advisers; women and lower-income households engage less. That uneven engagement risks entrenching retirement outcomes that favour those already in a better position.
Who benefits from the current system — and who misses out
Put bluntly, the system favours the able-to-pay. As the market consolidates and the government’s scale-test starts to reshape the landscape, this system bias will need to be addressed. Without deliberate change, we risk amplifying an advice ecosystem that advantages the “haves” and leaves the “have-nots” with fragmented, generic guidance.
A tech-driven response
The Mercer Master Trust’s proposition is designed around those realities. “Make no mistake, the demand for advice is real. The challenge isn’t persuading people to care — it’s making useful support affordable and easy to use. Our goal is to give all our members access to the very best decision-making support on offer, regardless of their financial status or literacy.” explains Stephen Coates, Head of Proposition, Mercer Master Trust.
“Digital advice significantly cuts the cost of getting help and makes it realistic for people to access it. The Mercer Master Trust’s digital retirement planning and advice service has no up-front fees and has already attracted nearly 5,000 registrations.
“For many members, the friction isn’t only financial — it’s also time, confidence and trust. Digital tools must therefore be simple to use, genuinely personalised and clearly explained. Our digital planning and advice service lets members run different forecasting scenarios, whilst bringing all their pots and savings into one clear view. It allows people to see, in plain terms, what different choices and trade-offs actually mean. By using technology to personalise engagement, we can help individuals navigate their retirement planning much more effectively than using impersonal, generic methods.”
It’s an approach that’s working. Mercer Money, the Mercer Master Trust member app, received a positive experience rating from 77% of survey respondents with nearly nine in ten describing it as a useful planning tool4. Clear signs that Mercer Money is both engaging members and delivering value.
The way forward
Members want help. Affordability and accessibility will determine whether that demand translates into engagement and, ultimately, better decisions and better outcomes. Embracing technology to provide personalised, scalable advice is not just a nice-to-have — it’s a step towards ensuring the promises of workplace pensions actually translates into secure retirements for everyone.
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1 Mercer Master Trust member survey 2025
2 20250514-assessing-the-uk-retirement-income-market-vfm.pdf
3 20250514-assessing-the-uk-retirement-income-market-vfm.pdf
4 Mercer Master Trust member survey 2025
