Scottish Widows research reveals the ‘engagement savers really want’

We’ve worked hard to better understand what savers want and how they interact with their pension pots. 

This research has enabled us to reach new audiences through alternative methods, increase our existing members’ level of engagement, and helped to sustain the industry’s continued positive momentum. 

It’s vital that the industry continues to listen carefully to what members value most, what their expectations are, and how we can provide them with valuable support.  

A confidence booster

There has been significant discussion across the industry about the best way to increase members’ confidence in engaging with their pensions. While it’s an improving picture, there is still some way to go. 

Using pension apps to manage their pension savings helps increase engagement and improve retirement outcomes as members start to log-in more frequently to see what they’ve already got saved, use tools to see what they need, and take steps to save more for their future. 

Data collected in a recent survey of Scottish Widows Master Trust members indicates that comprehension is rising. 

In the past 12 months, we saw the number of surveyed members stating that they only had a low pension understanding at 20%, which is less than half of the 2023 report’s results (46%). 

This positive shift has occurred in step with a rise in engagement – an additional 11% of members viewed their pension in 2023 (up from 73% to 84%). Viewed in tandem, these changes could positively impact members’ retirement prospects.  

The importance of trust

Among the top five elements most valued by surveyed members was having confidence in their pension provider or the pension scheme trustees to make investment decisions for them and look after their savings in the right way. 

This indicates that many savers do not want to be the ones making important decisions about their retirement prospects. They want their investments to be looked after by trusted experts.  

It’s true to say that the pensions industry, like many other sectors, has a tendency to overthink what consumers want.  

We need to focus on getting the basics right: providing well-run default options, and building financial resilience and pensions knowledge. This will help foster better overall pensions engagement, which we know leads to better outcomes.  

Make it easy

Besides respondents prioritising investment growth (another top five issue) and preferring their pension provider or scheme trustees to make investment decisions for them and look after their savings in the right way, our data suggests that savers want their moments of engagement to be made as easy, efficient, and effective as possible.  

Unsurprisingly, another top five issue was that respondents felt it was important to be able to easily get in touch with pension providers, manage their pensions online, and access useful content. 

Here, the continued digitalisation of services will be vital. We’ve seen first-hand that members are increasingly in favour of interacting with their pension digitally. 

Up 10% on 2023, over 80% of members now prefer to use digital channels to manage their pension pots and engage with educational content. 

Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than within our recently launched TikTok account, where we’ve looked to encourage young adults to engage with their pensions more. In Pension Engagement Season in September and October, the channel’s videos amassed over 176 million impressions and drove over half a million visits to our digital hubs. 

The industry must recognise that not everyone wants to engage in the same way, so it’s important to cater for all preferences and the changing needs of members. 

As a provider with a large market share, we’ve understood that we need to be among the leaders in driving forward this change. To do this, we’ve taken strides to make sure that savers have a wide variety of options for communication, management, and education. 

It’s crucial that providers adopt as standard a mindset that favours expanding options for savers wherever possible, rather than pursuing a one-size-fits-all strategy.  

Sharon Bellingham is the master trust and independent governance committee lead at Scottish Widows.