Is legacy thinking stopping the future?

If you work with Smart, you’ll know that a digital-first approach defines everything that we do.

Smart

27/1/2021

If you work with Smart, you’ll know that a digital-first approach defines everything that we do. Our business is built on our technology, which is scalable and modular and can be customised to meet any user’s needs.

It’s about a fresh perspective, innovation and new technology in what is, after all, an old marketplace.

However, what if the platform you’re using doesn’t give you the opportunity for that freshness of perspective? If you’re penned-in by out of date ways of doing things, how can you even begin to think outside the box?

We’ve been concerned for some time that, collectively, the pension industry is falling dangerously behind when it comes to investment in technology. Our worry is that for many pension scheme providers, this has become an elephant in the room and an enormous false economy.

The reality is that the consequences of legacy systems and a lack of investment in technology are combining to produce pension schemes that are letting their members down. Worryingly, this is an international problem, not one unique to any specific country.

Working with Professional Pensions, we’ve recently taken an in-depth look at why providers have been slow to invest in the technology the industry so desperately needs.

What we found were three major gaps – all of which need addressing quickly to ensure that how the pension industry works is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

The first gap is the technology gap itself. The pension industry is decades behind most of the financial services industry, because the online experience for scheme members varies so much.
The second gap is a problem with technological delivery and engagement. There’s a clear disconnect between what corporate leaders think their pension programme offers and what scheme members need, want and expect.
The third gap is all about a mindset. There is too much protection of the past, too many excuses to why something can’t be done, there is no greater example than the pension dashboard. On the whole, the industry agrees that the pension dashboard is important but the old way of thinking and conflicting objectives constrain its progress.

All three are signs that our industry is at a crucial juncture, we believe we are approaching a tipping point. Without investing in the future and putting customers first, are some providers on the road to an uncertain future? Or even no future at all? ‍

Find out more here.

THIS IS JUST USED FOR RICH TEXT STYLING

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

test for a pullquote here needs to be separate to test

Static and dynamic content editing

‍

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

alkdhjda

Bullet 1
Bullet 2 aodj afhiahf iafhpioafh paofh oapfh aopfhaofh aofhaofh aofh aofhafo ahof haf

Bullet 1 apofdhjaof haopfhoap fhaopfh aofhaofh aofhaofhaofh aofhaofh
Bullet 2

‍

FOOTNOTES

CONTRIBUTORS

More from the Innovation team

Improving the information architecture of the Smart Pension member app

In this article we explain how we used tree testing to measure and improve the effectiveness of our information architecture

Making ‘Help’ helpful with search analytics

Harry Brignull presenting at the European Parliament on Dark Patterns

A few weeks ago I was invited to give a presentation at the EU Parliament, as part of an IMCO (Internal Market and Consumer Protection) committee public hearing

Pensions are boring, and that makes them fascinating

Scheme member engagement is an industry-wide problem – this article explains how the innovation team at Smart uses the B=MAP framework to facilitate behaviour change, and how it helped us create a successful “first time sign-in” feature

Animated pension walkthrough for Smart Pension scheme members

The innovation team showcases Smart's digital take on traditional annual pension statements - technology designed to enhance member engagement

Has cutting edge tech become a hygiene factor?

Technology is a given, what people really want is the choice and competition it brings, says Smart Pension’s Head of UX Innovation Harry Brignull during UK Fintech Week

See all Design and tech articles

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

News articles

Is legacy thinking stopping the future?

If you work with Smart, you’ll know that a digital-first approach defines everything that we do.

Smart

January 27, 2021

It’s about a fresh perspective, innovation and new technology in what is, after all, an old marketplace.

Working with Professional Pensions, we’ve recently taken an in-depth look at why providers have been slow to invest in the technology the industry so desperately needs.

What we found were three major gaps – all of which need addressing quickly to ensure that how the pension industry works is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

The first gap is the technology gap itself. The pension industry is decades behind most of the financial services industry, because the online experience for scheme members varies so much.
The second gap is a problem with technological delivery and engagement. There’s a clear disconnect between what corporate leaders think their pension programme offers and what scheme members need, want and expect.
The third gap is all about a mindset. There is too much protection of the past, too many excuses to why something can’t be done, there is no greater example than the pension dashboard. On the whole, the industry agrees that the pension dashboard is important but the old way of thinking and conflicting objectives constrain its progress.

Find out more here.

About Smart

Smart is a global savings and investments technology platform provider. Its mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing, across all generations, around the world.

Smart launched in 2015, its technology platform – Keystone – serves the needs of retirement savers globally. Keystone is specifically designed to help governments and financial institutions (including insurers, asset managers, banks and financial advisers) deliver retirement savings and income solutions that are digital, bespoke and cost-efficient. In addition to the UK, Smart is operating in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia, with more than a million savers entrusting over £15 billion in assets on its Keystone platform.

Aquiline Capital Partners, Barclays, Chrysalis Investments, DWS Group, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, J.P. Morgan, Legal & General, MUFG and Natixis Investment Managers are all investors in Smart.

For media enquiries

Email: pressoffice@smart.co

Is legacy thinking stopping the future?

THIS IS JUST USED FOR RICH TEXT STYLING

Static and dynamic content editing

Static and dynamic content editing

Static and dynamic content editing

Static and dynamic content editing

How to customize formatting for each rich text

FOOTNOTES

CONTRIBUTORS

More Design and tech articles

More from the Innovation team

Is legacy thinking stopping the future?

If you work with Smart, you’ll know that a digital-first approach defines everything that we do.

About Smart

For media enquiries

Search the site