Helping members run their schemes - July update
12 July 2022
‘’I’m glad someone is saying sensible things about pensions to the people who make the rules’ was the pithy response I got a few weeks ago when speaking to a member about their PLSA membership. I thought it was a great comment – not least because the work that our Policy and Advocacy team does is such a key part of the PLSA’s services to our members.
The last month has been a good example of what that member meant. It’s seen the team publish a comprehensive review of how schemes and providers are developing new ways of helping savers with their decisions at retirement. This underpins our view that we need a new set of product, communication and governance standards, backed by legislation, so providers can give savers more support at retirement. Our Guided Retirement Income Choices (GRIC) are a potential solution and my colleagues report that they are getting decent ‘traction’ for them in Whitehall.
Our Policy team is also busy with plans for ‘Engagement Seasons’, which will be a co-ordinated industry campaign to boost people’s understanding of, and engagement with, their pensions. We are leading it jointly with the ABI.
The idea of Engagement Seasons is to help you to communicate even better with your members. We held our first event on 7 July, a "Policy Insights Webinar titled ‘Engagement Seasons – helping you to help your members’?" with our in-house experts Jon Echevarria and Joe Dabrowski giving an overview, and me chairing. If you attended I hope you enjoyed it. If you missed it you can watch the recording.