Member options: Improving your members’ experience and accelerating your journey to end game

Member options for DB members needn't be complicated.

PIE, FRO, BPO, ATV… wait, come back! Member options for DB members needn’t be complicated (even though actuaries do love an obscure acronym!).

Ultimately, when we discuss member options, we’re talking about questions like:

• Do you (as a pension scheme Trustee or Sponsor) understand the support given to your members around their retirement planning, and the options available to them?

• Are you confident that members are making well-informed decisions at the appropriate time?

• How can you enhance your members’ experience, and also reduce funding cost and risks?

Pretty straightforward, sensible stuff, right? And we think now’s a great time to (re)consider questions like these for your scheme.

Why now?

There are several reasons why 2022 is a great time to carry out a review of your scheme’s member options:

• Given the Pension Regulator’s increased focus on journey planning, it’s important to consider your member options and communications, and how they could support your journey to end game, (and potentially get you there more quickly!) whatever you decide that might look like.

• You’re probably already thinking about member data and changes to benefits as part of GMP equalisation (unless you’re one of the lucky few whose scheme doesn’t have any GMPs). It makes sense, therefore, to review member options (including their attractiveness and take-up) at the same time.

• State Pension Age (SPA) is going up, so a bridging pension option (BPO) may have become more attractive to your members. A BPO is where members are offered an increase in the scheme pension received in the years leading up to SPA, in exchange for a reduction beyond SPA, with the aim that the overall income from the pension scheme and state pension is more consistent before and after SPA.
• Given the range and complexity of retirement choices now on offer for individuals, it’s more important than ever that members receive timely information and help. Add in the fact that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for members to source quality pensions advice at affordable prices, and everything points towards now being a great time to review the support given to your members.

How LCP can help

We’ve already worked with many of our clients to review their schemes’ options. This has enabled them to better understand the key features of their schemes, improve the member experience, and effectively manage the scheme’s funding costs and risks.

You can find out more about our approach and some of the benefits, by reading our member options review 2022.