Pension communication and decision support through high-quality pension portals that help pension funds and administrators meet the requirements of the Future of Pensions Act (Wtp) — and truly support their participants — they do exist and perform well! Our own PensioenSuite is a good example. However, we notice that some pension funds in the market feel that these solutions are out of reach for them. This perception comes from concerns they have about these pension portals. But what exactly are those concerns — and how can they be addressed?
“A high-quality pension portal is too expensive for our fund”
I hear this concert regularly. Even recently, at the Pension Event hosted by Leaders in Finance. To some extent I understand where this concern comes from, because custom made portals can be expensive. However, from the start of the development of our pension portal we had the goal to make our solution broadly accessible to all pension funds and administrators. That’s why we have designed PensioenSuite to be cost efficient without saving on quality. The set-up is modular, which means that a pension fund can start small and later further expand the portal if needed. This makes it possible to realize high-quality pension communication within the available budget. Also, the pricing model takes into account the number of participants, making it scalable even for smaller funds. This makes our pension portal affordable for every fund and administrator. That’s already one less thing to worry about.
“With a pension portal, we as a fund are giving up control”
Also this is a common concern: will we, as a fund, be limited to working only with pension administrators and asset management parties that are connected to your portal? We can easily put that worry to rest. PensioenSuite is integrated with nearly all administrators (such as our partnership with Lumera) and asset management parties that Dutch pension funds work with. The backend of the system is therefore highly flexible. If a fund decides to switch to another provider down the line, that’s no problem, and participants won’t notice a thing. They’ll continue to log in to their familiar environment. So, funds and administrators remain fully in control of the partners they choose to work with. PensioenSuite adapts.
“I’m not sure if the pension portal suits our participant group”
This hesitation is completely valid. Funds and developers can come up with all sorts of ideas, but in the end, it’s about the participants. They’re the ones you’re doing it for. And there’s no such thing as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. That’s why, at Yellowtail Conclusion, we think that continuous testing is very important. We have dedicated experts who conduct interviews and test functionalities with the participant population of a fund. This way, through our YellowLab, we explore the digital customer journey of (a specific group of) participants. Based on their feedback, we make targeted improvements so the content within the PensioenSuite fits even better with the needs of a fund’s participants.
“There is no room for customization”
With PensioenSuite, Yellowtail Conclusion has grown into the market leader in pension portals. This means that over the years we’ve developed many functionalities based on requests from our clients. And at Yellowtail Conclusion, we go one step further, because we see our clients as collaboration partners. We listen to their needs and work together to deliver the pension portal they want. When we add these user journey features to the platform, they become affordably available to all funds and administrators. Does that mean every fund works with the same portal? Definitely not. We apply fine-tuning for each pension fund, from content and imagery to the look and feel of the specific brand. This way, every fund gets a unique portal through PensioenSuite, while still benefiting from the same efficient backend.
“The delivery time for a good pension portal is (too) long”
De eisen vanuit de Wtp voeren de druk op de pensioenfondsen op. De uiterste transitiedatum staat nu op 1 januari 2028 en veel fondsen hebben nog flink wat werk te doen voor die tijd. Extra stress over een langdurig implementatietraject kunnen zij er niet bij hebben. Het is voor veel fondsen dan ook een verademing als ze horen dat wij de module Pensioenportaal in de basis binnen een maand kunnen opzetten en dat de volledige implementatie van zowel portaal als planner binnen drie maanden afgerond is. Ook hier hebben fondsen er weer profijt van dat binnen PensioenSuite de integraties met alle grote pensioenadministrateurs al bestaan, want dat versnelt de setup aanzienlijk.
The pressure on pension funds is mounting due to the requirements of the Future of Pensions Act. With the final transition date set for January 1, 2028, many funds still have a lot to do. The last thing they need is additional stress from a long implementation process. That’s why it’s a relief for many funds to hear that we can set up the basic Pension Portal module within just one month, and complete the full implementation of both portal and planner within three months. Here too, funds benefit from the fact that PensioenSuite already includes integrations with all major pension administrators. That significantly speeds up the setup.
Make sure participants can make well-informed decisions
It’s completely understandable that pension funds and administrators have concerns about purchasing and implementing a new pension portal. With this article, I wanted to show that many of those concerns are often unnecessary. By clearing up those doubts, the path opens up to a high-quality pension portal that gives participants real insight into their pension and overall financial situation. That’s when ‘worrying’ turns into ‘ensuring’ that participants can make well-informed financial decisions. Because that’s what it’s all about in the end.
I’d be happy to discuss how PensioenSuite fits into your future. Do you have a different question about PensioenSuite? Feel free to reach out!
Petra Maréchal, Senior Director Pensioen & Vermogen
