3 ways to keep people engaged with pensions at all career stages
It’s never too early in a person’s working life to start saving for retirement. And while paying into a pension is a good start, employees need to pay attention to what comes next too.
For companies, the issue is about how to engage employees, help them figure out what type of retirement they want and, importantly, how to achieve it. It’s working out the the best way to capture and hold their interest, change perceptions and work with them for better outcomes at different stages of their careers and lives.
1. Ask the audience
Survey your people about the communications they receive about their pension and retirement. Ask if they feel they are receiving too much or not enough, if the information make sense, what would they like to see more of, and – in an ideal world - how they want to be communicated with?
2. Tailor and personalise
Equipped with the above information, you can now start planning your communications. One way to communicate in the right way for maximum engagement is to group employees into age specific cohorts.
For the early career group (aged 18-29), retirement could be more than 50 years away, so it’s important to make it clear they’re getting something out of this (tax relief, ‘your company pays in too’, for example) as well as giving them a gentle reminder about how their pension is doing every so often.
Seeing the way contributions are growing can be a great motivator. Immediate gratification could be the difference between someone paying in or not.
For the mid-way group (aged 30-49), priorities will likely be quite different. And while they might be paying more attention to their pension, they might also have more competing priorities.
For this group we highlight the importance of paying in that little bit more if they can.
Personalised communications that show the difference even a 1% rise in contributions could make long-term are a key focus during this part of their retirement savings voyage.
Those nearing the end of their career (age 50+) are potentially more engaged with their pension as it’s not so far away, but we need to make sure they understand their options and what that means for them as individuals.
We need to speak in a way that’s relevant and supports them to make well-informed decisions for their retirement.
Across all age cohorts, carefully consider the modes of communication you use to ensure the effective delivery of key messages.
- Does the communication need to be written and posted?
- Could it be a webinar, seminar, video or presentation?
Looking for new and innovative ways to make pensions more exciting is essential to helping engage those people who might not have been interested before. Use videos, infographics, anything to spark interest - don’t be afraid to shake things up and bring pensions to life.
3. Accessible and inclusive to all
The reality is that pensions can be confusing. And if employees don’t understand what you’re communicating, it’s unlikely they’ll show interest.
At DrumRoll, we write in a way that’s accessible and inclusive to most people, in a way they can easily access. Using simple, universal language, we make the options clear and obvious and steer clear of industry jargon. We include signposting and calls to action and if our readers need more help, we tell them where to find it.
Check results
After doing the analysis, asking for feedback from employees and tailoring communications to meet their needs, check to find out if they are more engaged.
Has there been an increase in employees paying in following a targeted communication? Or a decrease in your younger cohort leaving the scheme?
This all feeds into measurable results so you can see if your engagement plan is working.
Employees need to be involved throughout this process and an annual statement will not do that. Providing frequent updates on how their pension is performing, reminders to check it’s still on track and taking advantage of other communications going out, such as pay rises and bonuses, can all feed into a more effective engagement strategy.
In partnership with Barnett Waddingham
Everything we stand for at Barnett Waddingham is embedded in our promise – to do the right thing. We’ve applied this meaningful principle across all aspects of our business with continued success.
