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insight

Pensions Dashboard User Research

Evidence type: Insight i

Context

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) was tasked by government to create and run a Pensions Dashboard to help individuals access their pensions information online, securely and all in one place, and enhance the service MaPS offers to help people with their pensions and plan their financial future.

A key consideration for the MaPS Dashboard is that once people are able to see what they have in their pensions, this will trigger questions. This means there is a need to help consumers better understand what they have and how they can use that information to help them plan for later life and, importantly, help avoid potentially detrimental decisions.

This research is separate to, but largely complementary to, the qualitative research commissioned by the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP), which focused on understanding likely system requirements and how potential users might react to information presented to them, including partial information about their pensions.

The study

The research was conducted by YouGov, an independent research agency in December 2019, and comprised online surveys with 2,000 employees. The data was weighted to be representative of British business size. The survey was commissioned by Aegon, a provider of financial services and advice and founding member of the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing.

Key findings

Feedback from research participants’ qualitative interviews have been summarised into the following headline findings:

A high likelihood to use a pensions dashboard in general was observed across all audiences.

  • By providing a big picture view of participant’s pensions, a dashboard appeals across audiences – by providing total pension income, state pension view and reconnecting users with ‘lost’ pensions.
  • Even individuals that might be considered to be more highly engaged have gaps in knowledge and will benefit from the dashboard and supporting guidance - especially in later stages of their pension journey.
  • While some pensions not being available on the dashboard will be disappointing, clear explanations and the ability to set up notifications would help to mitigate this.
  • Users value the independence and data security reassurances of the Government link.

The majority of users are happy to create a profile as they see value in having more tailored, personalised information and guidance.

  • Profile creation needs to take place after users have accessed the dashboard when they are engaged and realise the value that profile creation will bring.
  • Profile creation is likely to be done via a laptop but some prefer using apps; the dashboard and supporting guidance will need to be accessible on both to have broad appeal.

Tools that allow users to play around with contributions, retirement ages, lifestyles and retirement options are seen as the most valuable.

  • Providing basic tools that help users plan for retirement (with the ability to do more sophisticated calculations for the more engaged) would enhance the dashboard experience for all audiences.

Points to consider

  • Methodological strengths/weaknesses: This was a qualitative study aimed at user attitudes, behaviours and experiences. While some differences due to age and pension pot size were observed, further quantitative research with a nationally representative sample would be required to validate any differences between sub groups.
  • Relevance: Research was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating the use of video-link interviews from home. Whilst this methodology was relevant in the way individuals will access the pensions dashboard, it is unclear whether face-to-face interviews would have yielded a more in-depth response from participants.

Key info

Topics
Year of publication
2021
Country/Countries
United Kingdom
Contact information

PwC Research