How your TV remote control could boost Britain’s pension pot

Technology, such as smartphone apps, ATM machines and TV’s red button could be better harnessed to help encourage Britons to boost their pension pots by offering them greater flexibility, the Future Foundation argued.

A “channel changer pension” that could help savers manage their retirement pots more easily through the red button on their remote control was an idea mooted by the think-tank, which compiled a report for Friends Life titled Pensions – The Solutions.

Using ATMs to allow people to deposit cheques and cash into their pensions, or transfer funds from their bank accounts could also make it easier to save, the report said.

Savers could also benefit from a smartphone “pensions meter” app allowing users to access real-time information on the worth of their pension.

The study comes ahead of a widespread overhaul of the pensions system this October when automatic enrolment into schemes begins.

Martin Palmer, head of corporate pension marketing at Friends Life, said: “The growing appetite for pension ATMs reveals a desire for people to have more opportunities to increase the amount they save.

“Although this solution would be complex to implement, there may be some lessons here for the industry that would allow us to develop solutions that give individuals more flexibility to change their pension contributions.

“The industry could also look into using the red button on their TV remote controls, effectively bringing pensions into people’s living rooms.

“This might enable savers to investigate how additional top-ups of pensions saving would affect the overall pot – or it might even be used to make contributions from bank accounts.”

The views of 1,000 people across Britain were canvassed, and nearly a third (32 per cent) of workers said they would be interested in the opportunity to “deposit cash into my pension at an ATM”.

Almost three in five (59 per cent) of those in employment would be interested in a service which “allowed you to easily check the value of your pension and expected retirement income at any time”.

Around half (48 per cent) of workers would be interested in technology that allowed them to “add a small amount to your pension savings from your current account or salary at any time – with your employer also making a contribution” and the opportunity to “adjust up or down how much you save into a pension scheme each month”.

The study also found that 46 per cent of 18-to-24-year-olds and 37 per cent of 25-to-34-year-olds would be interested in “an application that would show me how my spending habits are affecting my savings”.

The report found that 83 per cent of all workers, rising to 90 per cent of workers aged 25 to 34, would be interested in at least one of its ideas.