Personalizing Pension Design And Delivery: The Next Frontier

“We need to invert our business model from one where organizational needs dictate the design of member services, to one where member needs dictate the design of the organization.”

Rosemary Vilgan, CEOQSuper

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rapid advances in genome analytics and the use of robotics are dramatically changing the treatment of cancer patients. Standardized protocols involving the use of drugs, chemotherapy, and radiation are being replaced by highly personalized, integrated therapies, which are leading to measurable better patient outcomes.

A priori, the same should be true in pensions. The personalization of pension design and delivery should lead to measurable better financial outcomes for pension plan participants. But what does ‘personalization’ mean? What are ‘better’ financial outcomes? And once we define ‘better’, what are its implications for pension design and delivery? This Letter explores this ‘better financial outcomes’ proposition and the design and delivery implications it leads to.