A holistic future – How can the pensions sector keep pace with widespread digitisation whilst serving the client’s needs

By Chris Corfield, VP, Banks & Non-Bank Financial Institutions at Crown Agents Bank

In the UK, around 54% of adults aged 75 years and over are internet users — a number which has nearly doubled since 2013. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly common for pensioners to have access to timesaving, seamless, tech to manage their pensions and finances. But while the world is forging into the future and embracing digitisation, those without access or ability to go digital, cannot be forgotten. The global pensions sector faces a unique balancing act; where some of its client pool are, if not born-digital are certainly digital-resident, and others in markets with increasingly ageing populations or limited digital infrastructure where traditional processes and approaches are expected and demanded.

Embracing digitisation

There is clear evidence of the benefits of embracing digital technologies for businesses, including improved customer experience and efficiency, but it needs to be balanced with the differing needs of an ever-evolving client base. For the pensions sector, embracing tech and implementing digital enhancements is a must for those members that demand an improved pensions management experience. However, this needs to be complemented with the traditional, often paper-based, process for those members who have not yet or will never embrace the online offering due to age, location or socio-cultural differences.

To stay relevant to all its clients, the pensions sector needs to embrace a multi-track approach; one where it provides the best online self-service options possible alongside more traditional manual management processes for members. Efficient and reliable digital proof-of-life solutions and chat functions via mobile applications or the web need to sit side by side with well-staffed phone lines and desk-based paperwork.

The long-term benefits of digitisation

In an industry where user needs diversify frequently, embracing digitisation can have a variety of benefits for the pensions sector, such as:

• Improving overall customer experience – using digital technologies transforms the overall customer experience. For international pensioners, or those who hold pensions in multiple countries, digitisation makes it easier for them to access and manage their funds more easily.
• Providing data-driven insights – going digital gives pensions funds and their members access to metrics and data, often in real-time, which can then be used to enable increased self-sufficiency.
• Increasing optionality and agility – the use of digital technologies provides the pensions sector with the flexibility and agility it needs to keep pace with ever changing customer demands.

Providing a holistic approach

It’s undeniable that embracing technology has myriad benefits for both pension providers and partners and the retirees they serve. However, given that a vast number of people who require access to these services are yet to become digital-native – and the move towards embracing digitisation is set to be gradual as people slowly become more comfortable with digital solutions – a holistic approach is required.

Digital gaps do exist, with varying access to services dependent on the country a pensioner resides in, a range of social and economic factors, and a stark number of pension-age consumers still reluctant or unable to use digital technologies. As such, pension providers must give their clients options as to how they want to manage and access their funds. Indeed, many pensioners will be happy to embrace digitisation, but this may take time. Equally, pensioners who live abroad may not have access to the same level or type of service as pensioners who remain in their native countries, such as access to customer service phone lines or the ability to visit providers in-branch.

To ensure no one is left behind, and provide a holistic approach which serves those who prefer traditional services and those who live abroad, pension providers need to offer both traditional and digital-native services in an intuitive manner. It’s not just about offering the latest technology, it’s about meeting people where they live, in the way they need and want to be served. For example, offering a telephone service as well as online chat functions, and offering traditional proof of life solutions as opposed to just biometric solutions.

Fundamentally, it’s about giving clients the opportunity to select the type of service that’s right for them and building a global, connected, pensions sector that serves their needs.