Every year, pension providers send millions of communications they are legally required to send. Annual statements. Auto enrolments. Scheme and regulatory updates. Each one represents a guaranteed moment of member attention that most providers are systematically underusing.
For most providers, that moment is spent sending a jargon-heavy document that members might acknowledge but file away quickly without engagement. What if that moment of attention, however brief, was used for something the member actually valued?
A growing number of pension brands are doing something more memorable, using data-driven video to transform those mandatory touchpoints from compliance obligations into genuine engagement-driven conversations. The difference in member behaviour, and in commercial outcomes, is significant enough to change how the industry thinks about communication altogether.
The real opportunity here is a fundamental rethink of what pension communications are actually for, who they are designed around, and what they should produce in terms of member understanding and action. Speaking their language, in formats that reflect how members actually consume information and with relevant data that makes every communication feel personal, is what separates providers building genuine member relationships from the ones ticking a compliance box.
We've set out exactly how to rethink member communications in our new pensions playbook.
Download Speaking Their Language below ↓
Rather than seeing regulatory communications as a cost to be managed, the smartest providers are beginning to treat them as loyalty-building opportunities. They are guaranteed moments of member attention that are already landing in the hands of the people you most need to reach. But what happens after that, whether the member understood it, whether it changed how they think about their pension, or whether it prompted a meaningful action, is increasingly being designed for rather than left to chance.
The FCA's Consumer Duty has changed the standard from whether information is being disclosed, to whether members genuinely understand it and are equipped to act on it. This matters because it reframes mandatory communications to a strategic asset, a scheduled, guaranteed touchpoint that providers now have a regulatory incentive to use well, rather than just use.
Pensions are inherently complex. Projection tables, contribution rates, fund performance, tax implications, and retirement options all require cognitive effort that most members would prefer to avoid. A four-page PDF asks members to do that work themselves, whereas personalised video does it for them.
Rather than presenting generic information that members have to mentally translate into their own situation, personalised video starts with the member's actual data. Their pot value. Their contribution rate. Their projected retirement income based on their current trajectory. Video format allows for natural explanation, visual demonstration, and conversational tone in ways that static documents cannot match.
For annual benefit statements, this means a member receives a video that opens with their name, shows their actual pot value growing over time, and walks them through what a small contribution increase could mean for their retirement income. For auto-enrolment communications, video can welcome new members by explaining how their specific contribution will be matched, how their money will be invested, and what their pot could grow to by retirement. Personalised video transforms administrative notifications into empowering introductions that are meaningful to members.
Where personalised video makes information clear, interactive video makes it actionable. By embedding decision points, contribution modellers, and scenario planning tools directly into the video experience, members move from passive viewing to active participation.
A retirement options video can present a member with their actual pot value, then offer interactive branches: "See what your pot could provide in drawdown" or "See what a guaranteed annuity income would look like." Each path shows personalised projections, allowing members to explore their options in real time, inside the video itself, requiring no separate login or navigation.
A contribution modeller embedded in an annual statement video can let members adjust a slider to see how increasing their contribution by 1%, 2%, or 3% would compound over the years remaining until retirement. The projection updates instantly, showing the member exactly what that decision would mean in terms of retirement income.
This level of interactivity serves a dual purpose. For members, it creates a sense of agency over decisions that often feel overwhelming. For providers, it generates behavioural data that informs future communication timing and content.
The shift from static documents to data-driven video produces measurable business outcomes. In our work with financial services clients, personalised video achieves a 98% completion rate, a stark contrast to the 20-25% email open rates typical in financial services (Campaign Monitor). Members watch and engage with your message when the content feels relevant to them and is in a format that they can easily digest.
Contribution increases tell a strong story. Members who receive a personalised video showing their current trajectory and the impact of a contribution increase are significantly more likely to act on that information. In campaigns VideoSmart has run with pension providers, we have seen contribution uplift rates three times higher than equivalent text-based communications.
Beyond the immediate metrics, the cumulative effect on brand perception is substantial. Members who feel genuinely communicated with, rather than merely informed, develop trust. That trust translates into longer membership tenure, higher contribution rates over time, and greater likelihood of consolidation. In a market where differentiation on fees and performance has narrowed, the quality of the member relationship is one of the few remaining competitive advantages that compounds over decades.
VideoSmart has worked directly with L&G to transform their member communications using personalised video at scale. The results speak for themselves: 98% video completion rates, 95% of members rating the experience 4 or 5 stars for usefulness, and a threefold increase in member contribution rates. The full case study, including how L&G built personalisation, accessibility, and actionability into every video experience, is detailed in Speaking Their Language.
Speaking Their Language is a practical playbook to closing the gap between how pension providers communicate and how members actually want to be communicated with. It covers plain language standards, brand consistency, personalisation frameworks, multi-channel deployment, retirement communications, and the regulatory environment shaping how all of this must evolve. It includes a case study of our work with L&G, as well as a communication maturity model, and concrete actions you can take to move forward.
Download Speaking Their Language now and see how data-driven video can transform your member communications ↓