Pensions - Articles - DC freedoms will create search for next top modellers

 Karen Partridge, Head of Client Services (UK and Australia) at AHC, commented:

 “April represents a landmark event in the retirement planning lives of many people, with an unprecedented range of options available for members to choose from. As a result the existing modellers and retirement planning tools that many employers have set up for their staff are in danger of being of limited use, as they are unlikely to reflect the full range of options available. It is therefore important that new and informative replacements are developed.
 
 “The key to new modellers will be member understanding. Simply providing a complex outcome summary will not provide a member with the level of understanding they will need to make a properly informed decision. The new tools need to be less about the figures and more about choice. It will therefore be crucial to include elements around the member’s lifestyle choices and the kind of financial flow they believe would best suit their needs from retirement onwards – all before the numbers are brought into play.”
 
 Partridge added: “Modellers have been proven to improve members’ interaction with their company benefits by up to six fold in many cases and there is a clear attraction to having educatory information and tailored figures all in one place. The need for this kind of tool for members will now be even greater, so the modellers will need to step up to the plate.”