PASA has launched a whitepaper titled ‘Focusing on a Saver-Centric experience’.
According to the paper, one of the biggest obstacles to delivering automated calculations is still data quality. Paper-based records, antiquated legacy systems, and complicated manual processes are some of the industry’s main obstacles.
The eAdmin working group spoke with 25 parties in 2022 to explore these concerns, including Third Party Administrators (TPAs), Professional Trustees, in-house administration teams, advisers, and the Pension Protection Fund. The main finding was a strong desire to provide a better saving experience.
The vast majority of participants agreed that eAdmin is essential in today’s environment and that they had allocated the necessary funds. Developments are no longer solely prioritised based on a Return On Investment/Cost approach, but also take into account the saver experience, operational efficiency, environmental impact, and regulatory needs.
PASA chair Kim Gubler says: “Financial services companies have invested heavily in data, infrastructure and User Experience to facilitate end-to-end processing and a seamless end-user experience. The pensions sector can now adopt best practice and leverage this work to support savers on their retirement journeys.
In other parts of financial services, companies are leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to deliver hyper-personalised digital experiences. To deliver a personalised saver experience in pensions, the data fundamentals must be in place. i.e. complete and accurate data, including behavioural data, to develop the right personas and user journey.”
PASA eAdministration working group chair Kim Toker says: “We need to focus on how we leverage technology to deliver improved saver experience. DC Schemes are leading the way in driving engagement by ensuring saver portals have engaging content and financial wellbeing modelling tools to help savers make better decisions about retirement.
“The eAdministration working group conducted 25 interviews with Third Party Administrators, Professional Trustees, In-house administration teams, advisers and the Pension Protection Fund to discuss these issues and the key outcome was a strong desire to deliver a better saver experience.
“This whitepaper explores the findings of these interviews and includes guidance on how to leverage developments in other parts of financial services to deliver better outcomes for savers. There’s no one size fits all, but there are steps to be taken in improving data quality, processes and ultimately driving the sector forward.”
The Pensions Regulator director of regulatory policy, analysis and advice Lou Davey says: “All savers deserve well-run pension schemes which deliver secure savings and a positive user experience. We welcome this guidance, which gives practical suggestions on how administrators can leverage advancements in technology to provide savers with better services.”