The pensions industry should offer diverse communication and education channels to cater to different preferences and evolving member needs, Scottish Widows has said, after its annual member survey revealed a growing preference for digital engagement.

The Scottish Widows Master Trust Member Survey Report 2024 showed that there has been progress in raising pension awareness over the past year, as the number of surveyed members that said they only had a low pension understanding (20 per cent) more than halved from 2023’s results (46 per cent).

In addition to this, 84 per cent of surveyed members viewed their pension this year, marking an 11 percentage point increase on the previous year.

Members were also more aware of the benefits of advice, as 64 per cent of respondents said they saw value in advice, up from 49 per cent in 2023.

However, more than a fifth (26 per cent) of members said that they believe they don’t yet have sufficient savings and plans for a comfortable retirement.

And whilst 32 per cent of members think they have sufficient savings and financial plans in place for a comfortable retirement, a large proportion, 41 per cent, neither agree or disagree or ‘don’t know’.

This is in line with broader research from Scottish Widows, which found that 38 per cent of people are not on track for a minimum lifestyle in retirement, and 66 per cent do not think they are preparing adequately, with cost of living being a barrier to many.

The survey also found that those who are more likely to lack understanding around pensions and investments are women, who lack financial confidence and lack short term savings.

This builds on previous research from Scottish Widows, which showed that the gender pension gap persists, with women working today still far more likely to experience worse retirement outcomes than men.

Despite these concerns, the report found that members are keen to engage, as 63 per cent of those without sufficient retirement savings want to understand more, while 57 per cent of members overall want to spend more time understanding their pension.

Digital engagement was found to be particularly popular amongst members, with 83 per cent of those engaging with their pension at least annually, engaging digitally, up from 73 per cent in 2023.

Some recent shifts have been seen though, as the research showed that whilst email was the favoured method in 2023, the Scottish Widows app is now the number one channel.

Commenting on the findings, Scottish Widows master trust and ICG lead, Sharon Bellingham, said: "Building confidence in pensions requires simplifying engagement.

"Digitalisation is vital, which is why we’ve worked hard to deliver our refreshed Scottish Widows app, alongside investing £100 million into our digital engagement.

"The success of our recently launched TikTok channel, which had over 176 million impressions during the Pension Attention week and drove more than 500,000 visits to our digital hubs, underscores the importance of meeting savers where they are, particularly younger audiences."

However, Bellingham emphasised that "one size doesn’t fit all", stressing the need for the industry to offer diverse communication, management and education channels to cater to all the different preferences and evolving member needs.

"By listening, simplifying, and embracing innovation, we can deliver meaningful engagement and better outcomes for all savers," she said.

---