Research and analysis

Pension Wise service evaluation: wave 1 interim findings

This report presents interim findings from a process evaluation to understand customer experiences of using the Pension Wise service.

Documents

Pension Wise service evaluation: wave 1 interim findings on customer experiences

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Details

Pension Wise is a national, government backed service that launched in April 2015 alongside the pension freedoms. Anyone over the age of 55 with a defined contribution pension now has the option to access their pension flexibly. Pension Wise offers free face to face and telephone guidance, alongside its website, to help people understand the range of choices now open to them.

This research was commissioned to evaluate the Pension Wise service. It helps us understand:

  • how people are finding out about the service
  • what drives them to make an appointment with the service
  • customer experiences of using the service, levels of satisfaction and advocacy
  • customers’ perceptions of the impact the service has had on their knowledge and understanding of their pension options
  • what actions customers take shortly after their appointment

This report outlines interim findings from the first wave of this research programme, interviewing a sample of customers who had appointments between February and April 2016. Further publications from this programme will follow in 2017.

We will use findings from this research programme to support future design and delivery of the Pension Wise service.

Authors: Mary Buxton and Darren Belnikoff (Pension Wise), Jayesh Shah, Kelly Finnerty, Lucy Lindley and Dr Rebecca Klahr (Ipsos MORI).

In addition to this research, Pension Wise also publishes performance data monthly.

Published 18 October 2016