The pensions industry risks “sleepwalking into another generation of under-saving” unless it experiments with new approaches to member engagement, People's Pension has warned.

The master trust argued that traditional, well-intentioned efforts to boost pensions adequacy had delivered limited success in recent years and called on the industry to support bolder, more innovative engagement strategies.

In particular, the scheme urged greater focus on Generation Z, which it identified as the cohort most likely to opt out of pensions but with the longest time horizon for building retirement savings.

With this in mind, People’s Pension has expanded its programme of engagement experiments over the past year, including a national advertising campaign that highlighted differences in pension provider ownership models.

The campaign, which used ‘fat cat’ imagery to call out shareholder-owned firms, resulted in a 35 per cent increase in brand relatability, according to the provider.

Meanwhile, through its ‘Pension Drop’ campaign, People’s Pension has sought to place pensions messaging in unexpected settings to reach audiences less responsive to traditional communications.

Commenting on the current state of pensions engagement, People’s Partnership proposition director, Kirsty Ross, warned that the industry was at risk of “sleepwalking into another generation of under-saving”.

She said that if the sector continued to approach pensions adequacy “with the same thinking and the same tactics”, it should not be surprised to see similarly disappointing outcomes.

Ross argued that the industry “desperately” needed to break what she described as a cycle of failed ideas and be willing to try something different, particularly given the opportunity to influence the retirement prospects of Gen Z.

She stressed that the youngest generation in the current workforce had the longest time to save and therefore represented the greatest opportunity to make a significant positive difference to long-term retirement outcomes if engagement strategies were effective.

“Tried and tested methods of engagement aren’t enough,” Ross said, explaining that the provider had deliberately expanded its approach to cut through using channels and formats that resonate more strongly with younger audiences.

This, she added, included tapping into popular culture, partnering with people Gen Z already watch and listens to, and showing up in public spaces where pension messaging is difficult to ignore.

Ross also emphasised that wider industry support would be essential if meaningful progress on adequacy is to be achieved, calling on providers to “be bold, try something different and find what can truly get people excited about pensions”.

Only then, she suggested, would the industry have a genuine opportunity to address the adequacy challenge and materially improve retirement outcomes for the next generation of savers.

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