One in three people says they trust AI tools to help with key aspects pension planning according to new Scottish Widows research.
Its latest retirement report shows that 42 per cent are comfortable using AI to explain pension jargon, 37 per cent would use it to calculate how much they need for retirement, with 28 per cent happy for AI to work out how much they need to save each month.
Overall a third of people say surveyed they trust AI tools to give them this accurate guidance. Of this cohort 80 per cent said their most trusted source of AI would be tools from their pension provider or firms that already offer financial guidance or advice, with 20 per cent saying they would trust tech and AI firms even if they’d don’t specialist in finance or money issues.
Scottish Widows points out that FCA-regulated AI tools, offered by pension providers and other financial firms come with formal consumer protections which are not available on general purpose AI tools. Scottish Widows points out that if these AI models give out inaccurate or unsuitable advice that leads to financial loss, people may be left without any support.
The report also shows that while a significant proportion of are people are happy to use AI to demystify financial products, many people still want to speak to professional when it comes to more complex financial decision, particularly around retirement.
For example, just one in 10 (10 per cent) of retirees would be comfortable with AI suggesting the best way to withdraw from their pension. Among those aged 50 and over, just 5 per cent plan to rely on AI tools before taking money from their pot.
Almost half (48 per cent) of people are worried that AI may give wrong or unsuitable pension advice, 43 per cent worry about the safety of their data and two in five (38 per cent) don’t think it would take their personal circumstances into account.
However, the report found that almost a third of respondents (31 per cent) said they would take AI-generated insights to a professional financial adviser, with a quarter (24 per cent) using AI-information to have more informed conversations with their pension provider.
Scottish Widows’ chief customer and digital officer Maria Herrero-Bullich says : “AI has the power to simplify complicated financial topics, personalise guidance, and make everyday decisions around pensions, savings and investments much easier to manage.
“As it becomes a normal part of managing our money, trust is essential. It’s clear that for those bigger, more complex moments people still value speaking to a financial expert, so the human factor and AI can comfortably co-exist to provide people with the confidence to make more informed decisions about their future.
“One thing that’s important to understand is the difference between support from regulated firms and general-purpose AI tools, with the former carrying much greater protection for the consumer.”
Herrero-Bullich adds that Scottish Widows is building new AI-powered assistants to help customers navigate the complexities of financial decisions, which will include its investment agent, InvestAI, which is embedded in it app.