London, 09 December 2020: PensionBee, a leading online pension provider, has featured in a new report from The Coalition for a Digital Economy (COADEC), an independent advocacy group that serves as the policy voice for Britain’s technology-led startups and scaleups.
‘Breaking Banks: A blueprint for Open Finance that puts customers first’ puts forward a series of recommendations to help create a functional Open Finance ecosystem in a post-Brexit economy. Within the report, COADEC calls for the UK government to break the hold of banks and bring consumer perspectives to the forefront by allowing them instant access to their financial data.
In ‘Breaking Banks’, the benefit for consumers to see their whole financial world in one place is emphasised, indicating the ability for everyone, regardless of their wealth, to make better financial decisions and receive tailored financial services.
Featuring as a case-study in the report, PensionBee reiterates the ability of Open Finance to transform the pension landscape for the some 52 million adults in the UK with pension savings (1). Combining banking data with pensions data allows new analysis of individual bank statements and the possibility to set up auto top ups into pension pots, if an individual has surplus income each month – an innovation that could go a long way towards helping solve the chronic under-provisioning in pensions.
In addition, by granting the same visibility over pensions as bank accounts, consumers over the age of 55 can make better drawdown decisions as they’re able to see exactly what their money is spent on. This avoids a common misconception among consumers identified by PensionBee earlier this year. The pension provider’s research found that consumers are withdrawing their pension into their current account in order to feel a greater sense of control over their retirement savings, when they would be better off leaving their money invested (2).
Clare Reilly, Chief Engagement Officer, of PensionBee commented “Despite often being the largest financial asset that people will have in their lives, there is still no way to get any standardised data in digital form about their pensions. This is completely at odds with our collective need to take responsibility for our retirements, feel a sense of ownership and make informed decisions. Too many people are completely in the dark about how much they have saved, how much they pay in fees, how well their pension is performing - and importantly, will they have enough to last them in retirement. Open Pensions will solve all of these issues and help create a generation of informed, engaged, proud and prepared savers.”
Notes to Editors
Please note PensionBee’s CEO, Romi Savova, sits on the Pensions Dashboards Programme Steering Group and these are PensionBee’s views, not the views of the Money and Pensions Service.
To read the report in full, visit COADEC: https://coadec.com/news/breaking-banks-a-blueprint-for-open-finance-that-puts-customers-first/
