As we head into Pensions Awareness Week, now is the perfect time for your clients to remind employees to pay their pension some attention. From bitesize content to encouraging money talk, there are lots of ways to help increase engagement.
High pension engagement levels could make a big difference to how employees feel about their finances – and about their life in retirement.
In fact, Standard Life’s Retirement Voice 2022 report revealed that people who spend time on their pension planning are reaping the rewards of being prepared.
It’s clear that when people engage more with their pension, it can have a knock-on effect on their overall financial wellbeing. For employees, this means that they’re likely to feel less stressed and distracted by money worries, and more in control of their finances – which can have a positive impact on their productivity and performance at work.
So this Pensions Awareness Week, it’s a good time to encourage employees to get better acquainted with their pension plan. Here are some ideas to help your clients get started:
1. Boost knowledge with personalised financial education content
Knowledge is a good confidence booster. It can help employees make informed decisions about their money, which could benefit them today and in their financial future.
This is why financial education is really important. And employers are perfectly positioned to provide the information and guidance people need, because they can incorporate it into their workplace pension offering.
They can start by signposting to free guidance such as MoneyHelper, Pension Wise, and The Money and Pensions Service. These cover a range of topics, from pension basics to how tax works in retirement.
If your clients have a workplace pension scheme with Standard Life, their members can get access to a library of bitesize financial education content and videos through our digital platform, Money Mindset. From here, members can pick and choose from topics that matter to them and get personalised tips on making the most of their money.
2. Encourage money talk
Talking about money could help employees engage more with their pension. People can learn a lot by hearing about others’ experiences, and it could encourage someone to open up if they’re feeling confused by how their pension works.
That said, many find it difficult to have conversations about money. In fact, according to The Money and Pensions Service, 81% of people avoid it altogether.
Your clients can help break the silence by normalising these conversations in the workplace. To make the most impact, they should start at the top by getting buy-in from their senior managers and business leaders. They set the tone of the workplace culture, so by getting them on board, they can help reduce any stigma surrounding money talk.
3. Remind employees to keep pension details up to date
It’s important for employees to keep tabs on their pension plan details, because if information is out of date or missing, it could have a big impact.
For instance, old pension pots could be left behind if people forget to update their address when they move house. And this is easily done; studies show that just 1 in 25 people would think to tell their pension provider that they’ve moved. This could explain why the value of lost pension pots has reached a staggering £26.6 billion, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Your clients can encourage employees to check in with their pension plan by creating an ongoing communications campaign. Sending regular updates – rather than a one-off email – could act as valuable reminders to employees at different life stages and nudge them into action.
If your clients are with Standard Life for their workplace pension scheme, they can get support with their communications strategy with our Pensions Awareness Week campaign materials. Free to use and free from jargon, our ready-made resources can help them build awareness, increase understanding, and maximise engagement with their pension plan.
For more insights and tools, visit our Financial Wellbeing hub and read our articles.
