Making good retirement decisions We firmly believe that providing easy, seamless access to financial advice will help people make better decisions about their retirement savings than if we just offer generic guidance and information. This is why we have placed accessible advice for all members at the heart of Mercer Smart Pension. Retirement is the single most important financial decision most people will make. There are several options available to most savers for how they can draw their pension and many different service providers to choose from, but not all will be suitable. Making that choice can be difficult and often overwhelming. Our digital advice offering allows us to ‘democratise’ advice, making it affordable for all pension savers. By using cutting-edge technology, we can ensure savers get the benefit of advice tailored to them regardless of the size of their pension pot. “Advice is traditionally seen as only for those who are ‘high net worth’,” says Rishal Singh, Master Trust Client Delivery & Engagement Lead at Mercer. “By making it digital, we are bringing advice to the masses and taking away the fear around whether a person has enough money to receive advice. By making it digital, we’re making it more accessible.” Giving your employees security about their financial future can form an important part of their overall wellbeing. Providing support has been proven to improve employee job satisfaction and talent retention. This is just part of the financial wellbeing story, however. Supporting your employees’ future Mercer Smart Pension represents a change in mindset for employers when it comes to pension provision. As Stephen Coates explains: “To look after members, you need to look at their situation holistically and you therefore need the tools to look after them holistically. It’s not just about managing a pot of money in a scheme.” Money worries are one of the biggest causes of stress for individual employees and can have a serious impact on their ability to perform their jobs effectively. That’s why our digital retirement advice offering looks across all pensions an employee has and can incorporate other savings pots and assets. We help people bring in other pensions and assets such as ISAs and property so then can look at things in the round. Our digital advice service helps savers to address the four ‘pillars’ of financial wellbeing to get their money in shape and reduce finance-related stress. Control over the day-to-day prepared for the unexpected freedom to make choices in life on track for the future Not overspending income. Debt and expenses are manageable. Having the capacity to absorb a financial shock. Including access to resources or financial guidance to improve your situation. Having a plan for the future and saving towards it. Many of our existing clients across our pension and employee benefits businesses are keen to offer their employees perks and services such as wellbeing support or healthcare. But as Stephen Coates points out, this isn’t just about looking after your employees now – it’s an approach that should be looking well into the future. “By 2040, 47% of the workforce will be over the age of 50,” he explains. “The workforce is getting older and will have different needs – they will want more autonomy; they will want more flexibility. It will be, in part, the job of the employer to help look after them financially.” With these changing needs, employees will look to use their pension savings more flexibly through options such as drawdown or phased retirement. “There will be a lot more onus on employers to help look after these people and transition them out of work over a much longer period,” Coates continues. Mercer Smart Pension is designed to make providing a pension for your employees straightforward and affordable. Contact us today to find out how we can help you and your employees towards a more secure financial future. Issued in the United Kingdom by Mercer Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England No. 984275. Registered Office: 1 Tower Place West, London, EC3R 5BU. Company: Mercer LLC Contact: Ben Claxton Email: ben.claxton@mercer.com Website: www.mercer.com
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