As online member portals, mobile apps, Pensions Dashboards and artificial intelligence (AI) become central to pension provision, the paper argues that inclusion must become a fundamental design principle rather than an afterthought.
While digital technology has the potential to improve engagement, simplify administration and help members make better-informed retirement decisions, the paper warns that increasing reliance on digital services could widen existing inequalities for people who lack digital access, skills, confidence or trust.
In pensions, where decisions can affect financial security for decades, digital exclusion can lead to lower engagement, poorer outcomes and greater vulnerability to scams and fraud.
The paper sets out practical recommendations for trustees, providers, regulators and policymakers, including embedding inclusive design into digital services from the outset, maintaining high-quality alternative channels for those who need them, simplifying communications, improving accessibility, adopting proportionate identity verification processes and ensuring AI is developed and deployed responsibly.
The paper highlights that digital exclusion is about far more than internet access. Disability, affordability, digital confidence, usability, language and major life events can all affect a person's ability to engage with their pension at the time they need support most.
Rather than treating digital inclusion as a compliance exercise, the SPP argues it should become a strategic priority across the pensions system, helping to deliver better retirement outcomes while supporting innovation, trust and long-term value for members.
Mamunul Wahid, Chair of the SPP Digital Inclusion Working Group, said: "Digital technology has enormous potential to transform how people engage with their pensions, but innovation must go hand in hand with inclusion.
If we design digital services around the needs of the widest possible range of scheme members, we can improve engagement, build trust and help deliver better retirement outcomes for everyone. The challenge is not simply to make pensions more digital, but to make them more accessible.”
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