COMMUNICATIONS

Looking past stereotypes

Is it time to retire our pensioner comms?

Sarah Hawke
Writer
Quietroom

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People have a hard time connecting pieces of their pension puzzle when they’re near retirement age. And who can blame them? Retirees tend to have more pension pots than their kitchen cupboard can handle, there’s endless financial jargon buzzing around, and apparently PPF isn’t just the sound you make when you first read about an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum. Whoever thought of that name wasn’t thinking about good communication.

Tackling a serious problem – good comms can help
Age UK found the number of pensioners living in poverty has risen to over two million – the highest it’s been since 2006^[1]. The rise of DC over DB and the increased flexibility with which people can access their pots are likely to add to this problem.

At Quietroom, we want to share our communications know-how to help bring about a brighter future. And we know that people who understand their pensions make better decisions.

So the real question is – what don’t members know and how can we fill those gaps?

To find out, we regularly facilitate member research to help pension schemes.

Here’s what we’ve learnt so far:

Members start to think seriously about their pension as they approach age 55-60. This is a great opportunity to increase engagement.

Members want ‘advice’, but they don’t always mean the FCA-regulated kind. They just want to talk to a human, to check their thinking and ask questions.

Members don’t trust pension communication if their data is wrong, and stories of mistakes in data spread like wildfire.

Members struggle to understand their current communications.

Stereotypes and challenges of talking to ‘older’ people
The way you say something matters just as much as what you say. And it’s very easy to alienate people with lazy language.

Age UK commissioned a study a few years ago to find out some of the perceptions the public has of older people ^[2]. They learnt that one in three think older people are incompetent and incapable. And that old people are seen as pitiable and rarely as enviable. These stereotypes are unfair, and we need to guard against reinforcing them in retirement communications.

Society creates stereotypes to help us put people in boxes; but it’s a lazy way of understanding people. We need research to uncover the real challenges that people have with a pension system built a century ago.

Here are several things you can do to navigate stereotypes and overcome the obstacles of talking to older people about their evolving financial circumstances:

Consider how you can make your communications more accessible
Some schemes send their over-75 members print-only communications. But in an increasingly digitised world, this may become less and less relevant. In 10 years’ time, those retiring will probably have spent the majority of their lives using digital technology.

People may depend more on technology for its accessibility – for example, assistive technology like screen readers. Screen readers turn on-screen content into speech or translate it to Braille. The government has an article on how to create content that works well with screen readers ^[3].

Ultimately, giving members the ability to choose how they want to receive information in a way that best suits their needs is the most important thing to consider.

Give support. They’re even more likely to want to talk to a human, to check their thinking and ask questions
Make your communications more human. This means writing how you’d speak and incorporating interactive elements like face-to-face sessions and video content.

Providing information in different formats, like video, can also help cater to people with impaired vision or hearing difficulties. You could include video transcripts and use bigger fonts. These videos are good examples of clear and easy to understand content – they’re personable and accessible:

Innovate the way we structure retirement so pensioners don’t have to think about their pension later in life
Some pension organisations have already begun making changes to cater for people in retirement. The PLSA’s solution for the lack of retiree support is their Guided Retirement Income Choices ^[4], a useful framework that supports retirees with complex decisions, irrespective of what kind of pension or provider they have.

Solutions need to be developed that recognise that as some people age, their ability and desire to make complicated decisions reduces. So we need innovation that allows people to make long-term decisions when they're at their peak ability to make them.

To avoid pensioner poverty, people have to continue making choices about their finances later in life. It’s our responsibility as an industry to reduce the pressure on older people. The communication tips we’ve shared will help to alleviate some of the challenges we expect to see in the future of retirement income.