Beyond consumer duty: Pension support must reflect real lives
There are many reasons why a workplace pension member – or anyone – may become financially vulnerable. It’s something that affects up to a quarter of the population.
Workplace pension members can face vulnerability for many reasons, often unexpectedly. When this happens, the quality of support available can shape financial outcomes not just in the short term, but for years to come.
Understanding vulnerability in the real world
For many pension members, it is clearly financial – shaped by prolonged pressures on household budgets that have steadily weakened resilience. Over time, these pressures can force difficult tradeoffs, such as reducing contributions or accessing savings earlier than planned, often at the expense of long-term financial security.
But vulnerability is not just about money. Life events and personal circumstances play a significant role. Financial abuse – whether within relationships or families – is something we are seeing a lot more of.
Bereavement, divorce and mental health challenges are also far more common than many realise. For others, additional barriers, such as language or lack of confidence, make navigating complex financial decisions especially difficult.
What unites many of these experiences is that they are often invisible. Vulnerability often sits beneath the surface, unnoticed.
Cancer and long-term trends
Then there’s cancer, which is increasingly shaping people’s working lives, finances and wellbeing.
By 2045, the number of people living with cancer in the UK is expected to increase by 58% according to our long-term partners, Macmillan. It means many more individuals will be managing the condition alongside work, responsibilities and long-term financial planning.
Breast, prostate, colorectal and melanoma skin cancer are expected to be the four most common diagnoses by then.
This shift has profound implications. As survival rates improve and people live longer, cancer is likely to become more of a long-term condition rather than an acute event, bringing ongoing financial, emotional and practical challenges that can affect pension decisions over many years.
Whether cancer affects a member directly or someone close to them, timely, specialised support can make a real difference not only during treatment, but through recovery and beyond. By working closely with Macmillan, we are combining expertise to anticipate future needs, not simply respond to today’s challenges.
Support that meets people where they are
Meaningful support only works if people feel able to access it. In practice, members rarely contact us to say they are vulnerable. They call about a routine query, often unaware that additional help is available.
That is why our teams are trained to recognise the signs of vulnerability and respond with care and sensitivity. Their hard work has been recognised by the industry including the CCA Global Excellence award for the most effective customer vulnerability strategy in April this year. We were also the first workplace provider to achieve the CCA Level 8 accreditation in 2025.
Strengthening outcomes with AI
A recent development is the way Scottish Widows is using AI – with clear safeguards in place – to help colleagues identify and support individuals who may be vulnerable, by summarising calls and highlighting patterns that indicate there might be an issue.
By reducing administrative effort, AI frees colleagues to listen more closely and focus on each member’s needs and creating calmer, more personal interactions. It has moved beyond being “new tech” to become a practical tool that strengthens, rather than replaces, the human connection.
Going beyond consumer duty
Supporting vulnerable pension members is not simply about meeting regulatory expectations – it’s fundamental to our purpose. The Consumer Duty is an essential foundation, but it has to be viewed as a starting point rather than the end goal.
Real leadership lies in designing systems, services and conversations that reflect how people actually live and how quickly their circumstances can change.
As vulnerability becomes more visible across the workforce, those organisations that respond with foresight, empathy and practical support will help shape the long-term trust in workplace pensions and their role in financial wellbeing.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Scottish Widows
Scottish Widows is a life, pensions and investment company.
