Fidelity International has announced a partnership with Plain Numbers to support workplace pension members’ understanding of their finances.

The partnership, which will last for three years, will aim to better support members who struggle with numbers.

This was identified as an issue by Plain Numbers who pointed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’s 2011 Skills for Life Survey, which found that almost half of adults have the numeracy skills expected of a primary school child.

In the first stage of the partnership, colleagues from the Fidelity team will take part in training provided by Plain Numbers to help them better understand members’ struggles with numbers, and how to communicate with members more clearly.

This approach is based on research by Plain Numbers that found, according to the organisation, that the number of customers who understand key financial information can be doubled through support.

Plain Numbers also stated that it will be supporting staff at Fidelity with communications sent to its customers and members across both personal investing and workplace investing to make sure they are as clear as possible.

Fidelity International head of workplace distribution, Dan Smith, commented: “As a provider of workplace pensions to over half a million people in the UK, we understand that not everyone finds it as easy to engage with, or understand, their pensions as they would like to.

“We are committed to helping people get to grips with their personal finances and look forward to working closely with Plain Numbers to provide better member outcomes.”

Plain Numbers chief executive officer, Mike Ellicock, added: “We’re delighted to be launching a new partnership with Fidelity International. We know that pensions are a crucial part of people’s financial future and therefore its essential that everything possible is done to help people understand the key information.

“Working together, I’m confident that Fidelity International and Plain Numbers will help thousands of customers achieve better outcomes.”

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