30 Apr 2025

Smart pension investments can supercharge employee engagement

For most employees pensions are usually decades away. So how can you boost engagement today?

If you find your employees are prone to switching off at the mention of workplace pensions, you’re not alone.

But when they’re so beneficial to your employees’ futures, and so costly to you, this lack of interest is a problem.

To get their attention, pensions need to feel real and relevant.

Talking about the benefits is a start, but these benefits are usually decades away for most people.

So how can you make employees care in the present as well?

You tell stories.

Telling stories about a workplace pension’s investments can go a long way.

No longer is a pension just a set of complicated rules and hopes for the future, it’s an active player in the world we live in today.

And by saving into a pension, employees are taking part in affecting change.

That’s pretty engaging.

Which investments do people engage with?

It’s simple really. Employees engage more with investments they can understand, take an interest in and care about.

To most people, a list of complicated fund names is no better than gobbledegook.

But if they can picture an investment and its impact, and it’s something they see value in, there’s a chance they’ll make an emotional connection

Sustainable investments are a great example of this.

Take a wind farm, for instance, which people know and trust to be ‘a good thing’.

They can picture the turbines, usually against a backdrop of lush green fields.

And they can confidently say that it’s not having a negative impact on people or the planet. It’s an investment they can actually take pride in.

It’s possible they’ve even passed one in the car.

So UK investments get bonus points. In fact, UK investments are another easy way to help employees feel connected to their pensions.

Maybe they’ve heard about the need for social housing, medical research or reforestation in the news, and would be delighted to know their pension savings are supporting this.

Zooming out, we think it’s hugely beneficial that the government has been encouraging UK pensions to include more UK investments.

It’s not just a good idea for the economy, it’s a good idea for employee engagement.

The benefits of better pension engagement

For employees:

Motivation to take action for their future and make better financial decisions
Willingness to learn about pensions and improve their financial wellbeing
Potential feeling of pride if their investments have a positive impact

For your business:

Better return on your investment, as employees appreciate it more
Less stressed employees, as they become more financially resilient
Greater perceived value from the benefit you provide

Getting the most value from your pension.

Engagement doesn’t just happen – you need to communicate

As we suggested earlier, you can’t beat a good story.

So alongside the stories you tell about confident employees in control of their future finances, tell stories about the investments that are making that happen today.

Share detailed and descriptive accounts of specific investments and their impact
Highlight investments that are in tune with your business’ and employees’ values
Send updates digitally, in regular emails, articles or intranet pages
Don’t just rely on fund fact sheets and performance reports

Ideally, your pension provider should be doing this for you.

They’re the ones with all the information and context – nobody expects you to know it.

So see what they can provide, if anything, and then make sure it’s reaching your employees.

Of course, this all relies on what your pension invests in.

Our research suggests that sustainable investments encourage people to engage more with their pension, which around 2 in 3 employees (62%) agree with.

Engagement matters.

If you come to the conclusion that your pension provider isn’t doing enough to help, or that they invest in a way you don’t like, it’s easier to switch provider than you might think.