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Longer living with a focus on purpose
The landscape of pension saving is changing. There’s a renewed focus on living a more meaningful life as we get older – building a future that reflects both our financial goals and our intrinsic purpose. Although living our best life is the goal for many, 69% of today’s 55–64-year-olds have saved less than £100,000 in their long-term savings i. For most, this is likely to be far too little to maintain a moderate lifestyle in retirement.
With experts estimating that people should be putting away roughly 15% into their pension contributions ii – there’s a definitive call to raise awareness and help the nation save more.
Tackling avoidance and the benefits of building a future vision
Preparing for retirement has traditionally been seen as ‘something for the future’ when in fact, actions early on in life can set a surer course for retirement. Aegon have created a journey that blends together regulatory wake-up communications to offer nudges, personalised insight and a rich range of hands-on support at the moments that matter, from as early as 45. By offering earlier reminders and help, members have a greater chance of reviewing their contributions in enough time to make a tangible difference to their savings.
Aegon is driving not only early intervention but equipping members with interactive tools and information to help them develop a clear picture of their future in order to plan better.
Support at every stage, built for everyone
Education, guidance and advice. All three are essential to bridging the knowledge gap, when it comes to accessing retirement savings. By tackling the basics and dispelling common myths or misconceptions surrounding the pension market – the industry can open the doors for members to take action.
Aegon aims to offer information that’s accessible, at any stage of life. Combining comprehensive information with convenience is the key to effectively communicating the pension process. Our bitesize videos, interactive tools and online webinars can all play a significant role in improving retirement outcomes. Combined with Aegon’s unique impartial guidance service, Aegon Assist, this approach enables members to gain clarity on their savings targets with clear guidance on how to address any gaps caused by shortfalls.
With millions of members not making any voluntary saving beyond the statutory minimum – and that the default rate is the recommended savings rate iii, this combined with only 18% of those Aegon surveyed having a plan in place to achieve their long-term money goals iiii, it’s clear that offering guidance as a pathway to advice is not just an opportunity but an imperative.
Providing impartial guidance is the crucial midpoint on the road from education to advice and, importantly, an accessible option during an ongoing financial crisis. Moreover, the stigma around financial advice must be dismantled – communicating the true value of professional advice.
Our goal is to offer all the support the member needs to build a better understanding, engagement and confidence in decision-making. The combination of Aegon’s unique approach to financial education, member communications built around the principles of behavioural science, unlimited guidance and the seamless path to advice is one that should be replicated across the industry.
A brighter look at retirement
Members need considerable support for the complex decisions around how much they should save or when they should access savings. The anticipated launch of Pensions Dashboards, now expected at some point in 2025, alongside the Pension Attention campaign and simplified annual benefit statements are positive developments in raising awareness and making it easier for members to access pension information.
Aegon’s aim is to simplify the retirement process, bring retirement planning to life for members but it’s more than that. Necessary engagement is likely to be best achieved by providing clearer, more helpful and more effective communication and support to members. Such communications should fulfil the criteria of being proactive, understandable, focused, accessible and relevant.
Allowing members to easily plan their future will help them focus on what matters most to them – offering balance between money and mindset that is integral to a full, meaningful retirement.
The post Aegon: Retirement planning needs to start earlier appeared first on Corporate Adviser.
