Defined contribution (DC) pension scheme trustees need to listen to members “in the right way” to meet their pension expectations, Now Pensions head of DC platform, David Bird, has emphasised.

Speaking at the PLSA Annual Conference 2024, Bird argued that listening in the “old ways” was “just not cutting it”, as industry engagement was not purposeful enough.

“It is our job in the industry to deliver a pension, that works like a utility for people, people do not need to engage with it for it to work in a reasonable way,” he explained.

Given this, he proposed several ways the industry could adapt to meet DC member’s needs.

In particular, he argued there was a “big trust” issue in the industry and that they “need to do a much better job at earning it”.

Bird stressed the importance of personalised communications, suggesting that individualised messages could capture member’s attention more.

“It is about giving people what they want when they want it, but it is also about making sure that all of our messages are personal to them,” he argued.

“If we continue to talk to people in generalities and about people like you, I do not think it works. We need to be personal.”

In addition to this, he said that purpose was “important” for many people saving into a pension, even if this does not influence their decisions.

“We need to make sure we can reflect that to them. They do care what our purpose is, and it needs to be aligned with theirs," he argued.

Bird also suggested a “need to cut out confusing language” when communicating with members.

“When it comes to retirement, I think we need to recognise for many people that you can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes, you might get what you need,” he concluded.

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