Before the Retirement Outcomes Review was concluded, Royal London already had concerns about how customers were communicated with in the run up to retirement. The regulatory standard was not enough so they sought insight to better inform that process.
Our initial research told us many customers approach their retirement with feelings of anxiety and doubt. Indeed these feelings are only amplified when customers experience the standard ‘wake up’ process. We believe this doesn’t give anyone enough time to make informed decisions and could in fact be driving poor behaviours.
To help our customers take some confident steps towards their retirement, we chose to move away from the industry norm. Instead we are now taking them on a journey which starts five years before their chosen retirement age.
Each year they now receive an engaging pack with call to action. This fresh approach was fully endorsed by our second phase of research where customers felt far more empowered about their options. And with a greater understanding on board, they are much more likely to seek financial advice.
We have already put in place part of this new engagement approach for over 1m customers which together with improvements to annual statements ensure a lifetime journey is fully in place for a significant part of our customer base. Once we fully assess the impact of this approach, we will consider how and when we increase the customer coverage across Royal London Group.
Written communications examples included:
- 5 year example - running annually until 2 years out
- 2 year example - issued 2 years and 1 year before retirement
- 6 and 3 month example – issued 6 months and 3 months before retirement
- Our Retirement Options Guide.
