Did you know?
The UK’s pension funds have huge investing power. With combined assets of nearly £2 trillion, they can make a real difference by investing in green infrastructure and technology – becoming a superpower in the fight against climate change:
• Around 85% of Defined Contribution pension savers are in a scheme with a net zero target
• Six of the top ten Defined Benefit schemes, with total assets of over £250 billion, have made net zero commitments.
The Trustees have already made a commitment to manage the Scheme’s investment portfolio in line with achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – but that’s a long way from now and there are steps we can all take now to make a difference.
As we reported in the Summary Report in 2021, online communications will become our preferred method going forward now provides a full digital service to 91热爆 pensioners, who can view their payslips and P60s online and amend their personal details whenever they want – meaning the Scheme has been able to reduce its paper consumption significantly. However, there is more that can be done.
At a meeting in February, the Trustees agreed to take action to reshape the communications strategy going forward. This will not only help save money but also reduce the Scheme’s carbon footprint.
The Scheme still sends out a combined annual pension increase letter and P60 to all pensioners in April, followed by a payslip in May confirming the new amount. This year will be the last time that paper payslips are posted. From next year, most retired members will need to have registered for myPension Online in order to view these (although P60s and pension increase letters will still be posted). Not only is it more secure than sending personal documents through the post but it will also help further reduce the Scheme’s carbon footprint.
Once you’ve registered for myPension Online, you’ll receive a notification by email every time your latest payslip is available. The pensions team will only send out a paper payslip to members over the age of 80 who have not registered online and only where the amount paid has changed by more than £50.
Sometimes you may need a paper payslip to provide proof of identity, and in this case you can request a copy from the pensions team.
Prospero review
Another key area for review is Prospero, which is currently posted to around 30% of 91热爆 Pension Scheme pensioners.
The carbon footprint for the production and postage of Prospero is equal to driving a car 1,800 miles per edition. And, with print and postage costs continuing to rise, the annual cost per member is currently around £10 a year.
In 2016 the decision was made to stop posting Prospero to new retirees. Instead, a PDF of each issue is uploaded to the pensions website. Retiring members are told about it during their retirement seminars and in their retirement paperwork. We know from our research that around 2,000 people access every issue online this way and in fact this number has doubled since 2019. We also know that the number of over-75s using the internet and social media doubled in 2020 compared to the previous year, and this figure is expected to rise further. Only a small proportion of adults (6%) have never used the Internet.
These are all compelling reasons to review Prospero and find a better way of engaging with the Scheme’s retired members, which not only takes account of their changing preferences for accessing information online but also recognises the impact it has on the environment.
Prospero online
The 91热爆 Pension and Benefits Centre has already launched Prospero online 鈥� essentially, a website where the team will be able to upload letters, articles, obituaries and details of reunions every month. You don鈥檛 need to register to use Prospero online.
The website has been built in-house using the expertise of 91热爆 Technology and will be maintained by the Scheme鈥檚 communications team. One of the advantages of going online is that there will be no word limit on obituaries, as there is in the printed version. Currently it鈥檚 a maximum 350 words per obituary, which we know many of our readers find too short to do justice to their friends and colleagues.
You鈥檒l also be able to comment on articles and share your own submissions through the website (although the Prospero team will still be happy to receive your submissions by post or email if you prefer).
A paper version of Prospero will continue to be produced, and for the remainder of 2022 things will continue pretty much as before, although we may reduce the number of issues by one or two.
Next year we鈥檙e aiming to produce three printed copies 鈥� combining all the obituaries and best letters and articles into a bumper issue 鈥� so those members who aren鈥檛 online will still receive their Prospero fix. We hope you will visit Prospero online and help us to build an online community for our retired members.