What do people want to know about pensions?
At the last FTT Fintech Festival we sat down with Robert Cochran, Workplace Savings Engagement and Innovation Specialist with Scottish Widows and asked him about his views on pensions, a hugely important and, for many people, intimidating topic.
He noted that the number one question that people ask is ‘what can I do with my old pension’. However, as he pointed out, there are some important questions that pension savers need to think about before they even get to that stage of consideration.
- What have I got. He stressed the importance of making it easy for people to know how much they have in pension savings.
- Is it enough. At that point they can think about whether it is enough. In order to determine what is ‘enough’ savers need to right tools to work that out.
- What can I do next. As Robert says, you need to remove the friction so that people can determine what actions they can take.
The guiding principle here is simplification and ease of access to information and the tools needed.
Has auto enrollment been a success?
As Robert points out, auto enrollment has been incredibly successful and has created 12 million new pension savers. It also means that young people are brought into pension savings early in their careers and not in a moment of panic when they hit a certain age. In practical terms, that means pension savings is normalised for them.
It does not, however, catch everyone and it misses the self-employed as there is no equivalent mechanism for them.
Low earners are also left behind, auto enrollment excludes those whose earnings are under the £10,000 a year cap. Clearly this is still more to be done to increase the reach for pension savings.
What would Robert change about how people approach their pension savings? What progress has he seen over the course of his career and what still needs to be done?
And what about AI? What impact will the technology have on people and how they manage their financial lives?
The answer is quite a lot. Listen to the full interview below to hear more.
Pensions play a crucial role in determining long‑term financial wellbeing and deserve far more open, ongoing discussion. They underpin not just retirement income, but also people’s sense of security, options, and quality of life in later years.
Is embedded finance part of the solution when it comes to that expanded reach that Robert notes is so important?
FTT Embedded Finance & Super Apps runs on 12th May in London and will provide some insight into some of the ways and innovative partnerships that can support greater financial security for pension savers.
