Environment Agency Pension Fund has seen a jump in online activity since upgrading its website as part of a wider overhaul of its communications strategy aimed at increasing transparency.
Schemes such as the NHS Pension Scheme and Civil Service Pension Scheme have used digital technology to improve member communications, increase transparency and reduce cost.
Since EAPF launched a new website in September last year as part of a new communication strategy, online registrations have increased to 20 per cent from 14 per cent.
Meanwhile calls to the scheme's helpline have dropped by 37 per cent since the relaunch, which is being attributed to simplified online navigation.
However, original targets were to register 73 per cent of the membership via the website by mid-2015.
But Dawn Turner, head of pension fund management at the non-departmental public body, said structural reform and system changes within some of its employer members had increased pressure on members of the fund, so it decided to scale back its efforts temporarily.
“The [members of the fund] were going through a great deal of changes in their companies and were getting a lot of requirements on them,” said Turner. “Pressure to register is too much of a burden.”
We re-engineered one of our hardcopy communications to a solely online offering and used the cost savings to fund the website restructure
Dawn Turner, Environment Agency
The revamped communications strategy focused on three areas:
Developing a brand and style for the scheme to help members identify with the fund;
Restructuring the website so members could find information about their benefits and a wider audience could learn about the scheme's responsible investment work;
Making the website accessible across as many devices and platforms as possible, allowing for greater digital engagement.
Turner said the restructure was carried out using the scheme's existing communication budget.
"We re-engineered one of our hardcopy communications to a solely online offering and used the cost savings to fund the website restructure," she said. "Our digital campaign will benefit from this year-on-year saving, and helps with paper reduction."
She added members had begun to use modelling tools and engage with the information about the scheme’s activities, such as its responsible investment activity.
“We are beginning to see a lot more of our members start to use the modelling tool,” said Turner. “They’re starting to explore that themselves. So when they go to see our benefits administrator, Capita, they have more specific questions.”
Data analysis
Turner said digital communication also allowed the scheme to examine trends emerging within sections of the membership and use those to tailor communications.
Karen Heath, head of engagement at communication consultancy AHC, said it was important for schemes to build tools that allowed members to choose their level of engagement with the scheme.
“Once you’ve got engagement the important thing is to give people the tools to engage at a level they’re happy to engage at,” she said. “It’s really important that they can take action easily and immediately.”
Promoting responsible investment
The scheme has also received between 20 and 50 enquiries from members about responsible investment activity such as how it was addressing climate risk within the scheme.
Last week it announced it had transitioned its £280m passive global equities portfolio to a new fund where it would be run against the MSCI Low Carbon Target World Index, to better manage and reduce climate risk in the scheme.
EAPF is publishing a series of articles on its website about its work in this area to commemorate entering its 10th year of pursuing such policies.
Ian Luck, director of employee benefits at consultancy Smith and Williamson, said promoting schemes in this way was typically the preserve of larger schemes with more resources.
He said: “The larger schemes will do that and will have a whole communication direction around the pension arrangement. That’s probably less applicable to small and medium [schemes].”
However, he added communication between schemes and their members was rising across the board.
“What we do see is much more openness as far as governance issues [and] what the scheme is trying to achieve.”
