There has been a 238% increase in members registering for self service from 8,329 members in January 2014 to over 28,000 today. Equiniti has also seen a 500% increase in the number of employees accessing their pensions each month via self‐service, from 500 in 2013 to over 3,000 members today.
Engagement with technology is just as popular. 93% of employees with access to the Compendia App strongly agree that it helps them manage their pensions more effectively. 86% believe that it helps them to understand their pension and that Compendia helps them to understand what their benefits will be at their chosen retirement age.
This level of engagement contrasts significantly with the UK average. According to Age UK (1), 42% of over 55s find pensions difficult to understand. According to other research, only one in ten people understand that the word ‘annuity’ means converting your pension savings into a regular income.
More disturbingly, just one in every 14, understands the phrase ‘auto‐enrolment’, despite the industry’s focus in recent times (2).
Equiniti’s Compendia platform drives member engagement:
- 87% of users check their fund performance
- 54% run different scenarios, for instance retiring early
- Two out of three users are extremely likely to recommend the app to their friends and colleagues, with 70% having already done so
All participants in recent follow up research by Equiniti access their pensions at least once a month, with 1 in 3 using it once a week on average. Equiniti’s research shows that people without access to their pension scheme via a mobile device are twice as likely not to understand, monitor and take control of their pensions.
Says Jason Hayes, Product Management Director, Equiniti Pension Solutions:
“Pensions, possibly the thorniest of financial services to understand, are finally going the way of banking, trading and e‐commerce. Employees are voting with their fingers and taking advantage of easily accessible and affordable mobile applications. As we continue to roll out the Compendia selfservice and mobile App to our 7.3m scheme members, we will strive to give them unprecedented access to and control over their pensions.”
References;
(1) Age UK Enterprises, August 2014
(2) Financial Consultancy MRM for This Is Money, August 2014