On the brink of retirement? Pension scheme members have to go through it!

How to support your pension scheme members wade through the transition between career and post-career.

The words of the famous childrens’ book “Going on a bear hunt” by the author Michael Rosen – “Can’t go over it, can’t go under it – got to go through it” provide a useful analogy for how it feels for many in the final stages of approaching retirement.

(We'll save the debate about what “retirement” really means these days for another day!).

What do I mean?

Well, if you’re thinking about what your retirement might look like. Do I keep working to some degree? Spend time with family? Travel? Learn new skills? Take up new hobby? Do more of what you’ve missed out on because you’ve been working? All of these?

Then, you need to figure out how to fund the answer?  And before you even reach the point of trying to understand how much it will cost you first need to figure out what you’ve got available today, what is your starting point?

• Pensions – a bit of defined benefit, a bit of defined contribution but not 100% sure!

• Savings and investments – ISAs

• Property – main home, plus property you’ve invested in or a holiday home?

It’s a complex picture even when you believe you have a good understanding of what it all means.  Research I conducted in a recent role surfaced that many people go into a state of inertia because they lack confidence or are anxious that their funds will not sustain their future plans.

The point about the “Can’t go over it …” phrase is that the pensions industry have a duty to help members at this stage of life to transition smoothly and successfully, they can’t avoid it so we need to help them.

How? The 3 E's of retirement support:

1.     Engage – clear, concise – not overwhelming and, tailored – be relevant

2.     Educate– help them to find sources of information that can help them become au fait with the language of pensions.

3.     Equip – provide access to tools that help them to self-serve, feel independent and get answers to questions that are specific to them.

I’ve spent many years in the Pensions industry working with proposition teams, communications teams, pension providers and during this time have overseen many research initiatives to understand what the members of schemes need from their provider and put in place successful initiatives to move people into a place of confidence.

Contact Barley today and let’s start a conversation about how we can help you build your 3 E’s for the successful career to retirement transition of your scheme members.