In an industry of experts, sometimes it’s refreshing to ask an amateur how they would do it.

Take the annual pension statement. The pensions industry has been agonising for years about how to make it both compliant and useful to the member. We have reams of FCA regulation to ensure the statement is accurate and covers the required points. We have had plenty of ‘good practice’ attempts to make it engaging for the member.

Some of this has led to progress. The best schemes and providers produce some impressively clear and engaging statements. But plenty don’t. Even some of the best still lapse into jargon. And – in a digital age – the annual statement is still essentially a paper document. Is there a better way?

My colleagues at the PLSA asked two groups of non-pensions people in their 20s and 30s to come up with a video version of the annual statement. After 30 minutes of preparation, they recorded their presentation, giving ‘Joe’ an update on how his pension pot had performed over the past year and what kind of income it might deliver in retirement. Their message was succinct, easy to understand and engaging.

OK, so our amateur friends’ offering had not been through any compliance checks. But the challenge to our industry is clear: if they can do it, why can’t we?

Some major providers are already working on this kind of new approach to communication. But there is plenty of progress to make. We just need the innovative spirit and imagination to do it.

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