Moving beyond one-size-fits-all models

With the UK having made huge strides on pension participation off the back of auto-enrolment, the defined contribution (DC) industry is now making adequacy a top priority.

The adequacy challenge – which is about ensuring members are building sufficient savings to provide a decent standard of living in retirement – is both stark and complex.

The challenge is multi-faceted. While adequacy benchmarks are useful in gauging the scale of the savings gap, the reality is that adequacy means different things to different individuals, and the reasons for under-saving are varied and nuanced.

Member engagement strategies, which are increasingly implemented via digital channels, have a crucial role to play in right-sizing adequacy. But the wide range of financial circumstances and barriers to taking action means that a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to drive the necessary behavioural change to meaningfully improve retirement outcomes.

This latest research from CoreData seeks to shed light on the digital engagement strategies that can help to drive meaningful actions among different member cohorts in order to strengthen long-term outcomes, as well as some key hurdles that DC providers will need to overcome on the path to true personalisation.