Retirement living standards awards open for nominations for second year

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) is calling for nominations for the second year of its Retirement Living Standards Awards to recognise excellence in adopting the Retirement Living Standards as part of member communications.

Like last year, the awards are open to pension schemes, providers, consultants, public bodies and other stakeholders who have adopted the standards.

They will be judged by a panel of industry experts who will take into consideration the scale and available resources of the organisation making the entry, so smaller schemes are encouraged to apply.

Entries will be judged in the following categories, with awards for each:

• Saver engagement, separately judged for schemes and providers – for entries judged to have communicated the standards most effectively through aspects such as ease of use, simplicity of message, visual representation, personalisation and demonstrated comprehension.
• FinTech/Innovation – for the entry which most impresses the judges for its use of technology to integrate the standards into tools, calculators or personalise income targets.

Applicants should complete this short form and provide any supporting material to showcase to the judges that they have an award winning approach. Further information and instructions on how to enter can be found on the Retirement Living Standards page of the PLSA website.

The first year of the awards saw three applicants awarded with the Saver Engagement: Scheme award go to Railpen, the Saver Engagement: Provider award go to Standard Life and the FinTech / Innovation award go to Legal and General. More information on last year’s winners can be found here.

Launched in October 2019 – and revised during 2021 to reflect price increases and societal trends – the Retirement Living Standards are designed to help savers picture the lifestyle they want in retirement and understand the costs. Based on independent research with the UK public by Loughborough University, the standards cover a range of goods and services that are relevant for the majority of people across three different levels – minimum, moderate and comfortable. It is expected that the awards will showcase best practice and encourage others to adopt them.

A single person will need to spend about £11k a year to achieve the minimum living standard, £21k a year for moderate, and £34k a year for comfortable. For couples, it’s £17k, £31k and £50k. Like the 5-a-day healthy eating maxim, the PLSA intends for the standards to become a rule of thumb for retirement planning.

With the Retirement Living Standards now accessible to more than 35 million savers through more than 120 different organisations, the PLSA has devised these awards last year to recognise adopters who have incorporated the standards into their communications in novel and effective ways.

Also supporting Standards are a number of organisations who have signed as Friends of the Retirement Living Standards. As Friends of the Retirement Living Standards these organisations help fund the necessary further research to ensure the standards remain up to date and relevant. For more information about the Friends of the Retirement Living Standards click here.

Nigel Peaple, Director of Policy and Advocacy, PLSA said: “Last year we launched our Retirement Living Standard Awards in order to celebrate the fantastic work that is being undertaken across the industry to bring the Standards into millions of savers’ homes; helping to create a common language to allow savers to engage with pension planning while also being a powerful tool for them to picture the cost of retirement.

“The quality shown – not only by the winners but also by all those who entered – was exceptional and we are fully expecting to see some even more innovative work highlighted in award application submissions this year. I continue to be surprised by the ingenuity providers are showing in bringing the Retirement Living Standards to life.”

Entries are open until Sunday 31 July and the winners will be announced at the PLSA’s Annual Conference on 12-13 October.