Firms encouraged to explore new approaches to increase pension engagement

Our research used behavioural insights to create and test different email designs and subject lines. It aimed to overcome common barriers, like the tendency to focus on the present rather than the future (known as present bias) and feeling overwhelmed by too much information.

The research also sought to test effective touchpoints for engaging consumers about their pensions. It tested whether sending an email around notable touchpoints, such as a birthday, would increase engagement.

The research and data

Three experiments were undertaken to test how different subject lines and email messages could influence people's engagement and understanding of emails about their pensions. The results showed that some behavioural messaging could help encourage consumers to open an email, but did not affect their engagement with the email, for example, whether they clicked on a call-to-action button.

A field trial was also conducted with over 82,000 pension customers from 2 providers to test if sending the emails at notable touchpoints would encourage people to open and click through to free financial guidance. Overall, we found that engagement with the emails was low, with just 1% to 7% of customers clicking through to the free financial guidance.

What this means for firms

The findings highlight that it is difficult to get people to engage with their pensions through email alone. Firms are encouraged to explore innovative approaches in talking to consumers about their pensions. The research also shows the importance of pre-testing communications to ensure they make the most impact and do not unintentionally discourage consumers.

This paper supports our ongoing work looking at how we can help firms to better support pension savers throughout the consumer journey.