Industry Voice: Digital revolution needed within pensions, report states

clock • 1 min read
Industry Voice: Digital revolution needed within pensions, report states

The pensions industry is failing to embrace digitisation, new research from Smart Pension and Professional Pension has found, resulting in a system that may not be able to facilitate future needs.

Auto-enrolment has fundamentally changed the UK pensions industry, bringing more people than ever into schemes. But on the back of this, the issue of low engagement through inertia risks creating a ‘time bomb' for pension trustees, with members only realising that they don't have sufficient savings for their retirement when it's too late to act.

In our survey, 71% of respondents describe their scheme's member engagement as "average", "poor", or "very poor"."

The report, Pensions - an industry ripe for a digital revolution', surveyed 106 UK defined contribution (DC) schemes, and found that only 36% offered members an online service available through a smartphone app. This is despite consumers becoming accustomed to technology-centric financial services.

Smart's Chief Technology Officer and Group Technology Lead Sam Barton has called for a "digital revolution" in the pensions sector and an overhaul of the way technology is approached by providers.

"Everything needs to change," said Barton. "Not just the technology - but also the people who run it."

Read the full report HERE.

 

This article was funded by Smart.

More on Industry

Access LGPS pool hits £50bn in assets under management

Access LGPS pool hits £50bn in assets under management

Pool also revealed it is working on private equity and private debt mandates

Holly Roach
clock 12 November 2024 • 1 min read
Buzz: Are you happy with the FCA's final dashboard rules?

Buzz: Are you happy with the FCA's final dashboard rules?

FCA dashboard rules, national lifetime savings plan and US election

Professional Pensions
clock 12 November 2024 • 1 min read
Aegon to launch commercial pensions dashboard

Aegon to launch commercial pensions dashboard

Comes after the FCA published its regulatory framework for dashboard service firms

Holly Roach
clock 11 November 2024 • 1 min read
Trustpilot