Could investments be the missing link in pension engagement?

Indecipherable jargon is undermining pension engagement which is why naming names could be the way forward for pension providers.

Every September, campaigns remind us to ‘pay more attention’ to our pensions – proof, if anything, that employees are still disconnected from what is often their most valuable workplace benefit.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: your workplace pension is probably the most expensive benefit in your budget, yet it’s also the one your employees, especially younger ones, are least likely engaging with.

Add in the continued strain from increased National Insurance contributions and a higher National Minimum Wage, and employers are left with an even bigger challenge.

But, despite the financial pressures, it remains ever more important for pensions to provide more value and to be more engaging for employees. There are plenty of ways to tackle this challenge, but there’s one area that gets overlooked far too often – what our pensions actually invest in.

Less abstract, more real

Let’s face it – for many employees, pension funds are a mystery. They’re full of indecipherable fund names, head-scratching investment strategies, and all sorts of financial jargon.

No wonder so few people feel engaged with them. So, how do we to get them excited about this aspect of their pensions?

The answer lies in making pension investments less abstract and more real. Forget the fund names and the jargon. Take a step back and see the bigger picture.

Imagine if your employees knew their pension was helping to grow 100,000 sweet peppers each week in the UK’s largest single-block greenhouse. What if they could see that their pension pot was helping power wind farms off the Lincolnshire coast, or helping to create affordable homes for young people in Milton Keynes?

These aren’t hypothetical examples – they’re real investments that pension schemes are making right now. The problem is that employees often have no idea.

These stories exist only in the abstract on a quarterly report. And yet, research from NatWest Cushon shows that 52% of employees agree that pension funds should be investing more in UK-based projects. So, we might be giving them what they want - but without telling the story, employees are missing out on the value their pensions are creating.

Making the private more personal

There’s one other thing the above examples have in common: they’re all private market investments. As the investment world evolves rapidly, pension schemes are increasingly looking beyond traditional stock market investments to private markets, infrastructure, and sustainable projects.

You might not think so at first, but this is great news for employee engagement. Why? Because private market investments are tangible and more relatable.

They can potentially generate better long-term returns than traditional assets, but their hidden value lies in their ability to create emotional connections with savers. That’s especially true if they’re right on our doorstep.

When employees can drive past a windfarm their pension is funding, eat the produce that their pensions have helped cultivate, or see affordable homes being built that will house over 4,000 families, the abstract concept of “investment growth” becomes something much more real and meaningful. They can literally see the real-world impact of their contributions.

Engagement is value

Ultimately, this is all about reframing your employees’ relationships to their pensions. By making investments more transparent and more real for employees, we unlock a huge opportunity to build engagement.

Instead of trying to educate employees about complex financial concepts, we’re connecting their savings to tangible, meaningful projects they can understand and support.

Employees who understand and value where their money is invested are more likely to increase contributions and see their pension as part of their broader financial future, rather than just another payroll deduction.

Of course, contribution increases alone are not the whole story – we want employees who are engaged, informed, and motivated to take ownership of their financial future.

Investment transparency provides a practical way to achieve that engagement while transforming the most expensive benefit on your balance sheet into one that employees actually value and appreciate.