Brief

NOW: Pensions endeavours to highlight the inequalities that exist in the UK pensions system and work alongside industry peers and the government to ensure a fair pensions system for all. The most pressing issue facing the industry is the gender pension gap which led to the creation of the ‘Closing the Gender Pension Gap’ series. The biggest cause of the gender pension gap is due to differing working patterns between genders. Women either take career breaks which result in no pension contributions, or they reduce their hours which means they might not hit the £10k auto-enrolment trigger, again missing out on vital pension contributions.

Strategy and execution

NOW: Pensions commissioned the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) to conduct research to better understand the factors that contribute to the gender pensions gap. This was written up as a report which was the basis for a series of events to reveal the findings and discuss solutions. In 2020, PPI are doing further modelling to look at other groups in the UK that are under-pensioned.

H/Advisors Cicero assisted in the breakdown of this data to compile a report and helped to organise a corresponding event to highlight the gap and the reasons for it, which was held in Westminster, July 2019. A second event was organised for October 2019 to discuss solutions to the gap – solutions for the member, employers and the government .

Prior to this event, H/Advisors Cicero organised media briefings with eight national personal finance journalists. For both events, H/Advisors Cicero drafted press releases and has since used the findings to comment on similar industry news and events .

Result

The campaign received 84 pieces of coverage, often using headline statistics from the research, with NOW: Pensions becoming a go-to commentator on the topic. On the day of the second event, we secured an interview on BBC Breakfast. The events were attended by over 170 industry peers and journalists.

The PR Manager at NOW: Pensions has since been asked to join the Diversity Project and the Insuring Women’s Futures initiative to bring awareness to the pension gap and to provide people with solutions. H/Advisors Cicero drafted an award submission for the Pensions Age Awards 2020, which was shortlisted for the Diversity award.