Getting the basics of pensions communications right

The need to effectively communicate pensions to employees has never been greater, particularly as PensionBee’s February 2025 research found it could cost employees up to £500,000 in their retirement if they fail to engage with their pension during their career. With such a large sum at risk, there is scope for organisations to focus on how they communicate pensions to their workforces to ensure they are kept informed.

Cater for different cohorts

A good place to start when considering pensions communications is ensuring content is appropriate to every employee’s understanding, age, and careers, and that it is wide-reaching for different working locations.

A particular challenge facing employers is how different cohorts digest and retain information, says James Smith, client director, personal wealth at Hymans Robertson.

“To combat this, employers should use a breadth of communication methods,” he says. ”They could supplement written communications with workshops and short videos to broaden understanding, and access to ask more detailed questions.”

Employers that want to embed the information into their communications strategy should start by gleaning feedback regarding frequently-asked questions and what cohorts want or need, through focus groups and surveys. Employers can gauge the effectiveness of methods based on the volume and type of questions they receive.

Variation in methods can depend on whether employers are thinking about their cohorts or the pension product, says Jonathan Watts-Lay, director at Wealth at Work.

“If they take a product approach, they will talk about what all staff receive,” he says. ”If they take a segmented employee approach, they will look at the different cohorts and benefits that may be relevant to pensions, and create communications based on those.”

Simplify jargon

Pensions are unavoidably complex, so there is a need for simplification within communications. Not every employee has time to read pages of information, which might not be of interest until later in life, so employers have a limited window in which to capture attention.

“Talking to employees in a language that makes sense to them is key,” says Watts-Lay. “Particularly with younger employees, employers could deploy interactive games to make it fun and engaging. Gamification can be useful to get complicated concepts across.”

Employers should ensure they keep talking about pensions and help employees to understand what a pension means for them, because this enables individuals to raise questions at multiple opportunities. A pensions glossary can also help staff to become comfortable with the language used.

Georgie Edwards, associate director DC proposition at TPT Retirement Solutions, says: “It’s helpful when employers are creating communications to try and use similar or identical terminology to their pension providers to keep consistency. This can help avoid any unnecessary jargon and confusion.”

Methods to deploy

There are multiple ways of communicating pensions information to employees that do not have to be complicated. Employers need to think about who they want to reach and how employees like to consume content. Not everyone will be office-based, so reaching staff without internet access is important. A poster in a canteen or break room is helpful in this instance.

Conversely, webinars and videos can break a complicated topic down into bitesize and easy-to-digest components, and be personalised. Podcasts, where people use conversational language to discuss pensions, can be engaging.

“Storytelling techniques and case studies that make employees feel like the main characters create more engagement and relatability,” says Smith. “By engaging with employees holistically on wider financial wellbeing issues, employers increase the likelihood of engaging them with topics that instinctively feel less relevant.”

Most pension providers have retirement and savings tools which allow members to see what their pension will look like at retirement. Pensions websites and portals where members log in to access information are helpful, particularly those with single sign-on capabilities so they do not have to worry about remembering passwords.

Kirsty Moffat, senior DC consultant at Hymans Robertson, cites an example of a bus organisation that created an app for its employees who do not typically check work emails or spend long in depots reading posters. “The app allowed the employer to cascade important messages and send out a short bitesize pension update on a quarterly basis,” she says. ”This contains useful checklists and updates members should be aware of.”

Employers need to allow for human interaction and employees to ask questions. This could be through one-to-one guidance, which they offer themselves in a non-regulated advisor capacity, or in an outsourced form to take the pressure off. They could also create a communication plan based on when providers issue information, such as on birthdays, work anniversaries, or at the start of a new financial year.

“Employers should signpost to external resources and point staff in the right direction to self-help,” says Edwards. ”The aim should be to improve understanding and appreciation of the choices employees can make, while also helping them make informed decisions and achieve good outcomes.”

Relate to real life

Ensuring employees are equipped with information, such as their own and employer contribution levels, can help them to evaluate savings levels from day one of their employment. A back-to-basics approach could start with affordability, exploring short-, medium- and long-term savings and what may be appropriate at certain points.

“Employers could help employees to free up money by encouraging them to shop around for their broadband and mobile phone contracts, and various insurances,” says Watts-Lay. “If they could save some money, they can then decide how much they are prepared to put into their pension. By lifestyling the journey, it becomes more understandable.”

It is also critical to provide female employees with information around the impact of taking time out of work and reducing their hours for maternity or adoption leave, or ongoing caring responsibilities, on their pension, adds Moffat.

“Additionally, given the cost of living is currently high, employers may have members opting out or reducing contributions,” she adds. ”It’s important to signpost where they can opt back in or increase contributions when they can afford to do so.”

When deciding on their pensions communications, therefore, organisations should consider pensions through employees’ eyes and meet them where they are at every point in their lives.