UK savers are open to artificial intelligence (AI) playing a key role in pension customer support. But, most would rather have a combination of AI and human interaction, rather than a fully automated system.
A recent survey by pension scheme provider PensionBee found that of its 1,000 participants, 79 per cent favoured a hybrid approach.
Of that group, 11 per cent reported that they were comfortable with AI taking the lead, while 34 per cent preferred mostly human agents, with AI only used as extra support.
Still, 34 per cent said they wanted an equal balance of humans and AI.
This comes as the department for work and pensions processes claims for employment and support allowance quicker with AI.
Its project is among 14 examples of AI tools which ministers have announced are being used to streamline the public sector.
Science, innovation and technology secretary Peter Kyle, said ministers want to use AI to “save money, speed things up, and crucially, improve public services across the UK”.
A tool, or a substitute?
The findings indicated a general acceptance in AI in pension services, with the majority expressing either a positive or neutral stance.
Respondents pointed out several advantages of using AI in pension support, citing availability, faster response times and accuracy as key benefits.
Its vice president of data, Luis Mejia, said: “these results confirm what we’ve long suspected, that UK savers see Ai as a valuable too, but not a substitute for human expertise”.
Yet, transparency remained a key concern.
The survey found that 79 per cent of respondents believed AI tools used in pension support should be transparent about how they are making certain decisions.
Most agreed that full disclosure of AI-driven determinations was key, with only three per cent believing that transparency was unimportant.
Financial planner Imran Rafiq said that AI could help address the UK’s pension savings gap by improving financial education.
He noted that many employees did not fully understand the value of their workplace pensions and that AI-powered tools could provide interactive content to enhance awareness.
“AI note-takers are a wonderful way of allowing the tech to summarise meeting notes, allowing the adviser to maintain eye contact and remain focused on the client, saving valuable time”, he added.
Mejia also said: “Savers want the best of both worlds – faster service and round the clock availability, but with the reassurance of human oversight.”