Motivation and Research Questions

In all industrialised nations, old age provision is the core of the social security system, though different approaches are taken for its specific design. In response to changing social, political, economic, and demographic conditions, many countries have carried out extensive reforms in pension policy over the past 30 years, particularly by reducing the benefit levels of public pension systems, increasing the retirement age, and moving from defined benefit to defined contribution plans (Hinrichs, 2021). These reforms were often genuine paradigm shifts leading to the structural reorganisation of old age security systems, and the changes frequently followed a three-pillar model of statutory, occupational, and private pension plans (World Bank, 1994; Immergut et al., 2009; Haupt, 2014).

As a result of these changes in pension structure, there has been a shift towards greater individual responsibility for retirement saving (OECD, 2013, 2022). Given the more market-based freedom of choice and the associated personal sovereignty in decision-making, individuals must choose between different providers, investment forms, subsidy options, and occupational and private pension products. Furthermore, individuals must independently inform themselves about the retirement market. However, pensions are complex consumer products, and planning for retirement is a complicated and uncertain exercise (John et al., 2021). Additionally, the retirement process is something individuals only go through once, so they cannot learn from their mistakes. Retirement is also often seen as something unpleasant and a cause for worry, meaning that learning about the pension system also involves psychological costs (Larsson et al., 2008; Sundén, 2008; OECD, 2013). Therefore, wrong or poor retirement planning and investment decisions—for example, due to a lack of interest in the topic, the perceived or actual complexity of the topic, inadequate financial advice, expensive and non-transparent products, early withdrawals, or not taking up a pension plan for various reasons—can lead to high individual financial damage over the life course and may jeopardise retirement income security, especially among the more vulnerable groups. In addition, many workers change jobs and, thus, also their pension plans multiple times during their careers. Therefore, developing a comprehensive picture of one’s retirement accounts can be challenging (Larsson et al., 2008; John et al., 2021).

Policy responses to these challenges have been threefold. First, financial market regulation and consumer protection policies should shield against negative outcomes and promote transparency, simplicity, and fairness in the market for retirement products and services. Second, promoting financial literacy and financial education programs helps strengthen personal finance knowledge and retirement planning skills. Third, improving pension communication by providing workers with information about their future retirement benefits to increase awareness of retirement savings decisions. The theoretical rationale for these policy responses was provided by research in institutional and behavioural economics, which has shown that, on the one hand, there are information asymmetries between providers and workers while, on the other hand, individuals are often overwhelmed by a large variety of choices. To help address this issue, governments and pension providers have created pension statements containing each individual’s earnings record, past contributions, and estimates for future retirement benefits. Many countries have single-pillar statements, and some countries have registries—usually websites—where workers can see their multi-pillar retirement benefits in one place. Other countries, such as Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, and Sweden, have gone even further to develop national online retirement dashboards—websites that not only include registries but also offer expanded functions. These functions include, for instance, the recovery of lost accounts, the imparting of financial literacy—which consists of two dimensions: understanding (personal finance knowledge) and use (personal finance application)—and the provision of unbiased financial advice (John et al., 2021). However, these systems do not necessarily cover all pillars of the national pension system. Moreover, some countries are in the process of implementing such online retirement dashboards, such as the Digitale Rentenübersicht in Germany (Stiefermann, 2021) or Pensions Dashboards in the United Kingdom (Department for Work and Pensions, 2022).

Considering some countries’ efforts to introduce such pension information systems in the future or further develop their existing dashboards, the aim of this integrative review is to answer three central research questions. First, this review answers the question of which groups—subdivided according to sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, income and gender—use pension communication and to what extent. Second, this review assesses whether the use of retirement provision information—both in paper and as digital overviews—improves the retirement knowledge of individuals. In addition to knowledge about the pension system, this review also determines whether attitudes towards old age provision change after the use of pension communication. Third, this integrative review identifies whether the use of pension communication changes retirement behaviour by improving retirement provision knowledge or by changing attitudes towards retirement provision. Several dimensions can be considered to answer these questions: savings decisions, retirement planning, labour income, and labour supply. Answering these three research questions can also help to better document and evaluate the numerous publications in the subject area of pension communication. Moreover, this study contributes to the scientific policy advice of several countries concerning the introduction of digital pension overviews or the further development of existing dashboards, which are becoming more relevant in ageing societies.

Although countries may have different pension communication strategies, it is still important to evaluate them together for several reasons. First, the issue of ageing populations is a global challenge, and sharing information and knowledge about pension communication strategies across different countries can help address this challenge. By working together and learning from each other, countries can develop more effective strategies for engaging and communicating with ageing populations. Second, as globalisation continues to increase, more and more people are living and working in different countries throughout their lives. This means that individuals may be eligible for pensions from multiple countries, and they need to understand how these different systems work to effectively plan for their retirement. Evaluating pension communication strategies across countries can help to identify best practices and to learn from different approaches globally. Countries can also identify innovative approaches that may not have been previously considered. Third, cultural differences can play a significant role in how people perceive and respond to pension communication. Evaluating communication strategies across countries can help identify cultural nuances and tailor communication strategies to specific cultural contexts. Finally, evaluating pension communication strategies across different countries can also provide insights into the broader social, political, economic, and demographic conditions that affect pension systems. For example, some countries may have more generous pension benefits than others, and this may be reflected in their communication strategies. Understanding these differences can help policymakers, regulators, and industry experts to identify broader trends and patterns that can inform discussions about how to improve pension systems worldwide.

The remainder of this review article is structured as follows. The second section describes the topic of pension communication and prior research. The third section explains the methods of this integrative review (i.e., the study design, search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, study selection, assessment of study quality, and data analysis). The fourth section presents and discusses the findings of the review, and the fifth section discusses its strengths and limitations. The sixth section concludes the paper with a discussion of emerging themes, new research directions, and practical implications of pension communication in ageing societies.

Prior Research on Pension Communication

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines pension information as ‘timely data on the effect of a course of events or action/inaction by an insured on the expected size of the pension benefit and the contribution. Further, pension information should include information on the expected variation—a confidence interval—around the expected value associated with a particular course of events or action/inaction’ (Larsson et al., 2008). Thus, pension information includes a scale of increasing sophistication in three levels of information, which can be summarised as (a) accounting information, (b) action and course-of-event information, and (c) uncertainty (risk) information (Larsson et al., 2008; Sundén, 2008).

In the current literature, the terms pension communication, pension statement, and pension information are generally used interchangeably and generally refer to (public) pension benefit statements in the form of letters, as this type of statement has been around for the longest time. However, as there is no universal definition for the term pension communication in the literature, the present integrative review will employ a more comprehensive view that addresses the actual meaning of communication (from Latin: communicare, meaning ‘to share’)—the transmission of information. Thus, the process of pension communication can use a variety of approaches to make retirement planning more understandable, comprehensible, engaging, and appealing to individuals, such as information brochures, statements, online dashboards, information events, web tutorials, education programs, and apps.

Overall, a change in retirement planning behaviour due to the pension information provided is often driven by a combination of several psychological mechanisms, which can vary depending on the individual and the situation. First, when individuals receive information that contradicts their current beliefs or behaviours, they may experience cognitive dissonance—an uncomfortable feeling that can motivate them to change their behaviour to align with the new information and reduce such dissonance. Second, individuals may be influenced by the opinions or behaviours of others, particularly if they perceive them as authoritative or knowledgeable. If the information provided comes from a trusted or respected source, it may be more likely to influence behaviour. Third, when individuals receive information about their own behaviour, it can affect how they see themselves and their self-image, motivating them to change their behaviour to align with their self-perception or to improve their self-image. Fourth, when individuals receive information about their progress toward a specific goal, it can motivate them to continue or adjust their behaviour to achieve the goal, particularly if the goal is important or meaningful to them. Finally, information can evoke emotions, such as fear, excitement, or regret, which can motivate individuals to change their behaviour; for example, if individuals receive information about the financial risks of a certain behaviour, they may feel fear and be motivated to change their behaviour to reduce the risk (Hershey et al., 2007; Wang & Shi, 2014).

Duflo and Saez (2003) were among the first authors to examine the roles of information and social interactions in workplace retirement savings decisions. As part of an experiment, employees of a university in the United States were invited to an information event, for which they were offered a financial incentive. Participation in both the event and the program significantly increased, although group differences between treated and untreated departments were relatively small, presumably due to social network effects. Additionally, in the United States, Liebman and Luttmer (2015) showed in a randomised field experiment that individual behaviour changed in favour of higher labour force participation due to a relatively mild and low-cost information intervention (sending an information brochure and an invitation to a web tutorial).

In 1995, the United States began to issue an information letter—called the Social Security Statement—on the publicly provided pension benefits. Mastrobuoni (2011) showed that the provision of this statement had a significant impact on employees’ knowledge of their pension entitlements, even though the included information was available to individuals before the introduction of this statement. Previously, individual data on contributions had to be requested. However, more comprehensive knowledge was found to have only an insignificant impact on individuals’ retirement planning behaviour. For example, no adjustment in retirement age was observed after receipt of the information letter.

In Sweden, Sundén (2006,2008,2013) has provided evidence that the provision of comprehensive information on the public pension system and education efforts seem to pay off to some extent. Consequently, Almenberg and Säve-Söderbergh (2011) have suggested that the provision of simple yet extensive pension information to the entire working population in Sweden has contributed to increased awareness of basic knowledge of financial concepts. In Germany, Haupt (2014) has shown that pension information, available in an information letter provided for the first pillar since 2004, is widely known and well established among letter recipients. However, certain groups of people engage with this information less or do not read the letter at all. Moreover, from the perception of this information, a change in savings behaviour can be observed among only a small number of people who received this letter. In particular, references to the reform-related pension gap and the additional need for private pension provision are often not read or perceived. Most recently, Dolls et al. (2018) used an administrative data set—the German Taxpayer Panel—and survey data to causally demonstrate that receiving pension information for the first time increased both contributions to supplementary pensions and labour income (as a direct pathway to increasing first-pillar entitlements) in Germany.

In the Netherlands, Debets et al. (2022) have shown that retirement savings knowledge has a causal positive effect on active retirement savings decisions. Providing pension information could have a small positive effect on retirement planning knowledge, but this depends strongly on the identifying assumptions and the specification of the model. Finally, Basiglio and Oggero (2020) compiled a narrative literature review of the effects of providing pension information on individual retirement planning, labour supply, and savings decisions.

Methods

The core tasks of research reviews are to provide an in-depth and critical examination of previous research on a particular topic and to answer specific research questions. This is achieved by identifying, analysing, appraising, and synthesising all selected studies in the available scientific literature, which serves as the status quo on a topic. Subsequently, conclusions are drawn that in turn generate new knowledge and provide orientation. Bridges are built between different disciplines, and findings regarding various subjects are compiled in a transdisciplinary manner (Whittemore & Knafl, 2005; Toronto & Remington, 2020; Oermann & Knafl, 2021).

The integrative review method is the broadest research review approach, as it allows for the simultaneous inclusion of experimental and non-experimental qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a particular phenomenon. It then synthesises key evidence for decision-making (Broome, 1993; Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). By detecting central issues in a subject area, an integrative review also identifies gaps in current research, emerging themes, and the need for future research (Cronin & George, 2023).

Study Design

An integrative review was undertaken and conducted according to the five stages described by Whittemore and Knafl (2005) and Oermann and Knafl (2021): (1) problem identification, (2) literature search, (3) data evaluation, (4) data analysis, and (5) presentation. This strategy was chosen because it provides a practical approach to understanding the literature on a particular phenomenon by summarising key themes and allowing for a combination of diverse methodologies.

Search Strategy

To ensure a systematic search of the selected databases, English-language search terms were defined in advance. The narrowing and definition of the search terms were carried out through preliminary searches in the literature. Following the consultation of an information specialist at the university library, the final search terms were determined. The following search terms were used: pension, retirement, information, knowledge, behaviour, letter, statement, and communication. A string of search terms and Boolean search operators were used to identify all relevant publications. First, the scholarly databases JSTOR, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library (in alphabetical order) were systematically searched in September 2021. With the help of search protocols (Appendix 1), it was possible to trace the subject database search in terms of name, date, search string, and number of hits. Second, it was considered that studies in the area of pension communication are also published in non-database-listed publications and edited volumes. Publications in non-database sources have relevant content and could help answer the research questions. However, they elude specialised database search strategies. Therefore, a supplementary literature search using reference list checking, hand searching and contact with experts was undertaken, in addition to the database search. This technique can also be useful in cases where publications are listed in scientific databases but cannot be identified using the specified search terms.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Based on the research questions, the following inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined for the study selection in terms of both content and form: (1) Against the background of developments in old age pension systems mentioned in the introduction, the search was limited to publications published between 1990 and 2021. (2) The review was limited to English-language literature. (3) The types of publications included were restricted to review and research articles, book chapters, and short communications in journals. (4) The subject areas of the publications were limited to economics and social sciences.

As this integrative review was limited to the effects of pension communication on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of individuals, it included only publications concerning the process of communication about provisions for old age using a variety of approaches (e.g., statements, information events, or apps). Furthermore, only publications targeting individuals who were not yet retired were included, and no geographic restrictions were applied. After careful consideration, the study design did not include restrictions because, as described above, country-specific and study-specific characteristics often permit only a qualitatively oriented reflection. However, this should not conceal the fact that the informative value of an integrative review ultimately depends on the quality of the underlying evidence.

Study Selection

Transparency and reproducibility are key features of an integrative review. The study selection for this review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Moher et al., 2009). These guidelines aim to improve the reporting of research reviews and include a flowchart that serves to clarify the sources included and excluded and to systematically reduce the literature. The records identified through database searching were managed and organised using the RefWorks reference management software package. After the records were imported, duplicates were removed. Title and abstract screening were then performed using the described inclusion and exclusion criteria. To minimise erroneous decisions, this was performed by two researchers. The studies were assigned to inclusion and exclusion categories. Afterwards, two researchers performed a full-text screening, whereby further studies were excluded.

A total of 481 publications were identified through database searches in JSTOR, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library. Another 12 hits were identified by reference list checking, hand searching, and contact with experts. Subsequently, 18 duplicates were removed, resulting in 475 publications that were screened for eligibility using title and abstract screening and considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. This analysis resulted in 419 publications that were excluded and 56 publications that were subsequently screened using full-text screening. This analysis step removed an additional 23 studies. Finally, 33 publications were included in the integrative review (Appendix 2). A summary of the study selection process is shown in a PRISMA flow diagram (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
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PRISMA flowchart for study selection. Source: Authors

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Study Quality

One essential component of an integrative review is the critical appraisal of the quality of the included publications to evaluate their reliability, value, and relevance. This quality assessment enables researchers to distinguish studies with methodological limitations from those of very high quality. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the included studies (Hong et al., 2018). The MMAT was selected as a quality assessment tool because the included studies were conducted with various methods, and this tool can be used to assess studies with different designs. To minimise research bias, the assessment of the quality of the included publications was performed and discussed by two researchers. With the MMAT, each study design is assessed using five predefined criteria. Each criterion can be scored as ‘criterion is met’ (Yes), ‘criterion is not met’ (No), or ‘not enough information in the paper to judge if the criterion is met or not’ (Can’t tell). The sum of the quality scores is 1 to 5 for the included studies. Research with a value of 5 is defined as ‘high quality’, a value of 4 is ‘good quality’, a value of 3 is ‘medium quality’ and a value of 1 or 2 is ‘low quality’. In addition, publications are rated ‘N/A’ if they cannot be assessed using the MMAT. The ‘N/A’ category is particularly relevant if a paper does not address clear research questions, or if no data were collected to answer the research questions. Therefore, theoretical papers cannot be assessed using the MMAT. The studies included in the integrative review were found to be of high to low quality (Table 1). Eleven of the included studies were of high quality, seven were of good quality, three were of medium quality and five were of low quality.

Table 1 Assessment of study quality using the MMAT
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A total of three qualitative studies, six descriptive quantitative studies and five non-randomised quantitative studies were identified and assessed. Twelve of the included studies were randomised controlled trials, which are regularly referred to as the gold standard of experimental design for demonstrating causal effects. A mixed methods design was not used in any of the included studies. For seven studies, the study quality could not be assessed using the MMAT because they were not empirical studies. This lack of assessment of the study quality with the MMAT applied particularly to narrative articles that presented pension information provided by different countries and often gathered opinions from pension experts rather than being based on empirical research. This was evident from the fact that these articles tended to be found through reference list checking, hand searching, and contact with experts (i.e., they were published in edited volumes and bulletins without double-blind peer review). However, the non-assessment does not automatically mean that these studies should be generally excluded from integrative reviews. In fact, these studies were included in the present review, as they may reveal valuable insights and theoretical considerations but should be interpreted cautiously due to their limitations (Valentine, 2019).

Data Analysis

Of the 493 records identified, a total of 33 studies were eligible and included in the data analysis. While there is no universal classification system for research designs (Döring & Bortz, 2016), several descriptive dimensions have been established in the literature, such as qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies. To approach the goal of systematically answering the three aforementioned research questions, the included studies were categorised according to their subject matter (i.e., theoretical, empirical, and methodological studies). This categorisation was carried out along the lines of the three research questions and resulted in the compilation of the studies shown in Table 2. While the object of study is clear in theoretical and empirical studies, methodological studies evaluate the design, conduct, and analysis of other studies. Thus, they address various facets of social sciences research, including, for instance, data collection techniques, differences in analysis approaches, reporting quality, adherence to guidelines, or publication bias. As a result, methodological studies can help to identify knowledge gaps in the methodology of research and strategies to improve research practices (Mbuagbaw et al., 2020).

Table 2 Compilation of studies included in the integrative review
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Findings and Discussion

The included articles were published from 2000 to 2021, covering two decades of pension communication research. The integrative review showed that many industrialised countries have been addressing the issue of pension information for many years, especially in the wake of various reforms of the old age provision system. As a result of these reforms, individuals must make increasingly complex pension decisions. Therefore, information letters for insured individuals, mostly for single-pillar benefits, have been introduced in recent years and are regularly provided in paper form or as digital overviews. The present findings took an international perspective, as the included studies examined pension statements in a total of 33 countries (in alphabetical order: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States). However, the level of detail and quality in each analysis varied greatly between countries. Most of the countries considered were presented only briefly and unsystematically in the reviews, depending on the available information. Often, the sources of the presented information—frequently, informal communication with an authority or a person—were referred to only in general terms or not at all, so the information could rarely be verified. The most comprehensively studied country regarding pension information is Sweden, particularly concerning the orange envelope—an annual statement for the public pension schemes (e.g., Sundén, 2006; Antolín & Harrison, 2012; Nyqvist, 2015; Kritzer & Smith, 2016). This emphasis is due to Sweden’s early introduction of pension information and its evaluation (e.g., Sundén, 2006, 2008, 2013). Moreover, Swedish information statements and sample letters are also available in English and are therefore predestined for international comparisons and research. The second most frequently studied country is the United States, particularly regarding the Social Security Statement, which covers the publicly provided pension benefits (e.g., Mastrobuoni, 2011; Armour, 2018; Diebold & Camilleri, 2020).

Information letters are repeatedly adjusted, for example, in terms of length and content presented. These adjustments result from both pension policy reforms and user surveys. The OECD has also developed best practice recommendations and guidelines for pension communication evaluations and national pension communication campaigns (OECD, 2013). In the current OECD Pensions Outlook 2022, these findings have been reinforced (OECD, 2022).

Use of Pension Communication

To date, the evaluation of the effectiveness of pension communication is usually—but not in all countries—carried out in the form of either intermittent or regular user surveys. These surveys typically ask whether the information was received, read, and comprehensible. For Australia, Worthington (2008) shows that only 30% of respondents reported reading and understanding superannuation statements well, fairly well, or very well. Respondents are also often asked whether their knowledge increased because of the information provided and whether they know of any online dashboards (if available). The user surveys conducted in Sweden showed sociodemographic differences for the use of pension communication. For example, women were more likely than men to indicate that they had received the information and opened the letter. Men, in turn, were more likely than women to say that they had read the entire content, examined the forecasts, and compared the information letter with that of the previous year. Similar differences appeared in terms of age, education level, income, employment status, and employment type. Of the various findings, perhaps the most significant is the fact that a portion of the members surveyed do not even open the envelope, let alone read its contents (Sundén, 2006, 2008, 2013). Haupt (2014) found similar sociodemographic patterns of use of pension communication for Germany. If this behaviour is displayed, particularly by vulnerable groups, it might lead to high individual financial damage over the life course and may jeopardise retirement income security. However, these articles explicitly note that the study designs did not allow for conclusions to be drawn about the causal effects of pension information on retirement planning knowledge or behaviour. Descriptive analyses highlighted that subjective retirement planning knowledge is limited and that many respondents were not interested in the topic of retirement planning. Information and education efforts have thus far shown only limited success in the countries studied. Qualitative studies, in particular, revealed that many interviewees read the information letters but found them incomprehensible, overly complex, and full of jargon or technical terms. This was also expressed as a lack of understanding towards the provider of the information (e.g., “If the information is so important, shouldn’t it be understandable?”). Furthermore, feelings of not only insecurity and powerlessness but also anger, fear, and deception were evident. These reactions were accompanied by a lack of acceptance of measures (information and education) as well as a loss of trust in politics (Peggs, 2000; Nyqvist, 2015). Some interviewees also stated that they had read and understood the information but still did not know how to act (e.g., “You have to do something, but what?”). There is an increasing international trend for providers to make pension information available primarily in online systems (e.g., the ‘my Social Security’ account in the United States). The main reason for this is cost savings rather than user needs. In the surveys compiled, users tended to prefer the paper form or stated that they did not have an internet connection. However, sending information in paper form is expensive and administratively complex. Furthermore, the paper form has been increasingly questioned for reasons of sustainability. Therefore, retirement provision information in paper form must be requested explicitly and, in some cases, with meaningful justification. Few studies have been conducted on multi-pillar pension communication, although several countries have established online dashboards in recent years or plan to do so in the future. John et al. (2021) were the first to undertake a descriptive country comparison on online retirement dashboards. However, empirical evidence is unavailable on either the usefulness of the information provided to users or the impact of the portals on users (e.g., regarding retirement planning knowledge or behaviour). In Sweden, a relatively anecdotal report claimed that the cross-pillar online portal was used by approximately half of the employed population and that many of those who did not use the portal lacked internet access (John et al., 2021). However, these statements are difficult to verify. In sum, knowledge about the actual use of pension communication is scant or based only on anecdotal evidence from some countries. This finding is surprising given the high cost of providing this information. Surveys—usually conducted by phone—do not permit any conclusions to be drawn about causal effects. Socioeconomic differences about the use of pension communication (e.g., by gender, age, education, income, employment status or type of employment) can only be inferred based on limited data availability. Qualitative studies suggested that this information is difficult to understand due to the technical language used (Peggs, 2000; Nyqvist, 2015). This comprehensibility issue may have an impact on actual usage of pension communication in several countries.

Effects of Pension Communication on Knowledge and Attitudes

Regarding the effects of pension communication on knowledge and attitudes towards retirement planning, the integrative review showed that individuals who had received (and thus were implicitly assumed to have read and used) pension communication demonstrated, depending on the study, either unchanged or higher retirement planning knowledge than individuals without the information provided. However, this result seems to rely particularly on the nature of the task or question asked or, when measuring effects, on underlying assumptions. Furthermore, how retirement planning information is presented was found to have an impact on knowledge. Differences in effects on knowledge were evident between paper and digital versions, text and graphic versions, tables, illustrations, text structure, word choice, and other forms of information (e.g., Brüggen et al., 2019; McGowan & Lunn, 2020; Eberhardt et al., 2021; Hurwitz et al., 2021). Similar results were observed regarding changes in attitudes towards retirement planning. Mastrobuoni (2011) showed that retirement planning knowledge (measured as knowledge on expected benefits at retirement) improved because of the receipt of pension information, particularly among groups that had no prior active contact with the provider. Individuals who had not made contact tended to be younger, had lower levels of education, were sicker, were poorer, had less labour market experience and planned less. After receiving the information letter, this uninformed group was both more likely to make predictions at all and also more correct in making predictions about their expected Social Security benefits at retirement. However, Diebold and Camilleri (2020) provided evidence that retirement planning information may well be an effective medium but that recipients do not retain and use this information over the long term (filing it away and out of mind). When the measurement was repeated, the effects of pension communication on knowledge had either disappeared or decayed significantly. Therefore, it is strongly advocated that paper information letters and online dashboards should act as complements rather than substitutes. Information provided online allows permanent access, and the paper form serves as a regular nudge to review the deposited information and assess the expected benefits.

Effects of Pension Communication on Retirement Behaviour

Regarding the effects of pension communication on retirement behaviour, the compilation of studies showed that pension communication has either a small positive effect or no effect on retirement behaviour. However, this result seems to depend particularly on the way the information is presented and on the measurement of changes in behaviour. Studies that conducted the information intervention in a controlled setting and measured changed behaviour as joining a retirement plan found generally positive effects. In some studies, similar results were found regarding changes in labour supply (employment and hours worked), especially among women. Across all studies, pension information had no effect on retirement planning behaviour in terms of postponing retirement age, the timing of claiming benefits, and combining work and retirement.

Using survey data linked to administrative data, Mastrobuoni (2011) found that the information letter did not affect the behaviour of the insured. Thus, the information letter did not affect changes in planned retirement age or the timing of application for benefits during the year. The letter also appeared to invoke no reaction to incentives in the security system, particularly in terms of the postponement of retirement age. However, Mastrobuoni (2011) did not conclude that such a letter could not change retirement savings behaviour. Rather, it may be that the information is insufficient to influence behaviour, in the sense that the information is not sufficiently understandable, comprehensible, engaging, appealing, or user friendly. Liebman and Luttmer (2015) demonstrated the influence of a detailed information brochure and a web tutorial on retirement planning behaviour in the United States. Regarding behavioural changes, informed individuals significantly increased their labour supply compared to the control group. This effect can be attributed particularly to changed behaviour on the part of women. Using the taxpayer panel, survey data, and linked administrative and survey data, Dolls et al. (2018) causally demonstrated that receiving pension information for the first time through the German pension statement positively changed both contribution levels and savings behaviour for supplementary pensions (Riester pensions) and earned income (as a direct pathway to increasing first-pillar entitlements). This change in saving and employment behaviour was presumably due to the lower costs of obtaining information and the higher visibility or presence of the topic of old age provision. Most recently in the United States, Goldin et al. (2020) causally demonstrated that decision-making in the area of voluntary retirement provision can be facilitated by providing specific recommendations on the ideal amount of savings contributions (in this case, a percentage) in retirement provision information. From this, the researchers concluded that pension communication must provide not only information regarding the need for supplementary retirement provision but also concrete assistance (e.g., by using an anchor value). Finally, from a research design perspective, it is evident that there is an increasing amount of theoretical and empirical work on pension communication. However, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study, no methodological studies have yet been published on pension communication. This would be important and beneficial in terms of directions for future research, particularly in terms of improving the comparability of the results of single-country studies. Therefore, one direction could be the development of refined multiple-item measures that are internationally comparable or approaches that do not rely on self-reports.

Strengths and Limitations

A particular strength of the present integrative review was its clear study design, which was based on review guidelines and allowed for transparency and reproducibility. The research questions were clearly stated, and the search strategy, study selection, study quality assessment, and data analysis were comprehensible. Another strength was that, in addition to the systematic literature search, a supplementary literature search using reference list checking, hand searching, and contact with experts was performed. To minimise erroneous decisions, the study selection and quality assessment were performed by two researchers. However, there were the following limitations. First, the study only included publications restricted to review and research articles, book chapters, and short communications in journals published between 1990 and 2021, which may not reflect the most recent developments in the field. Second, it should be noted that only English-language studies were considered. However, as the advantage of the integrative review is precisely that it can draw on a variety of research approaches, the included narrative reviews of Larsson et al. (2008) with thirteen countries studied, Antolín and Harrison (2012) with seven countries studied, Basiglio and Oggero (2020) with twenty-five countries studied, and John et al. (2021) with six countries studied are a suitable and appropriate method for also taking national findings into account that might not have been published in English.

Third, the search was performed in four databases (JSTOR, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library). Expanding the database search to include more databases and search terms might have expanded the literature included in the review. However, the supplementary literature search using reference list checking, hand searching, and contact with experts was undertaken to address the limitations of the database search. Fourth, an additional limitation was a potential publication bias, as unpublished studies could not be identified. Despite these limitations, this work revealed important findings and provided a comprehensive basis for future research efforts in this area.

Conclusions and Future Research

Many countries facing demographic challenges and a rapidly ageing population expend a great deal of effort and large amounts of money on pension communication or plan to do so in the future, aiming to inform individuals about their accrued pension rights and help them make decisions about saving for retirement. However, high-quality studies on the effectiveness of these communication strategies are scant. One reason for this is certainly a lack of available experimental or non-experimental data. This review paper, therefore, aimed to systematise the extant research conducted on this topic. Since no universal definition of pension communication exists, this integrative review applied a rather comprehensive view and considered a variety of approaches (e.g., statements, online dashboards, information events and brochures, web tutorials, education programs, and apps) to make retirement planning more understandable, comprehensible, engaging, and appealing to individuals.

The findings were threefold. First, to date, there is limited and often anecdotal evidence on the use of pension communication from a consumer’s perspective and almost no evidence on online or multi-pillar communication. In particular, the question of the extent to which financially vulnerable individuals use or do not use pension communication has scarcely been investigated, likely because of the paucity of available experimental or non-experimental data. Second, there are either no or small positive effects of pension communication on knowledge of and attitudes towards future retirement planning. However, these results are sensitive to identifying assumptions or the way knowledge and attitudes are measured. Furthermore, most of the observed effects decayed over time. Third, pension communication has either no or a small positive effect on retirement behaviour. This result is sensitive to the way behaviour is measured. The review showed positive effects for retirement savings, (female) labour earnings, and labour supply but no effects for retirement age and claiming behaviour. Given that planning for retirement is a complicated and uncertain exercise, unbiased information and advice are often difficult to identify. This information challenge has led to the introduction of pension communication—in paper form or as digital overviews—in many countries. However, such statements and dashboards are not designed exclusively to serve savers’ interests. Qualitative research has revealed that fulfilling the legal obligation to provide clear, correct and complete information is often a greater focus of providers and institutions than presenting pension communication in a user-friendly manner and acknowledging consumer heterogeneity. However, the experimental studies included in this review engaged in the first attempts to provide evidence of how effective information presentation and communication could be implemented in practice—for example, through reduction of complexity, the provision of advice, message framing, content modification, a presentation format that increases the salience of information or changes to the length of the communication provided. Unfortunately, more data for experimental and non-experimental research are needed. While there are analyses for single countries, there are no cross-country data sets available on pension communication.

To extend the work in the domain of pension communication, this study identified several future research directions, which should be of interest to researchers and decision-makers in both government and industry. Emerging themes in pension communication research include multi-pillar retirement benefits and the recovery of lost accounts, data visualisation of complex products, self-segmentation and personalisation of communication, new multi-channel communication approaches (e.g., video chats with employees, chatbots, and online engagement platforms), gamification and animation as well as designing user-oriented communication. The overarching socioeconomic objective of such research is to ensure people have adequate and sustainable retirement incomes. Additionally, as researchers and policymakers strive towards effective pension communication, it is essential for future research to investigate the barriers of communication and what contributes to the breakdown of a communication strategy, especially when it affects vulnerable groups. Various factors should be considered when designing a communication strategy, some of which include educational level, language proficiency, cultural background, age, gender and personal interests. Understanding and considering these factors based on future research can help to tailor a communication approach to effectively reach a target audience and achieve the desired outcomes.

Most recently, Strikwerda et al. (2022) also suggested learning from research in the medical domain. They argued that there are three lessons to be learned from this research that can be applied to pension communication to effectively support consumers in making better pension decisions: (1) emphasise the gist of information to help clarify to individuals what the information means to them; (2) use value clarification methods to help individuals determine what matters to them and how this aligns with the pros and cons of the alternatives; and (3) employ simple static visual aids for better comprehension of statistics and probabilities.

Finally, the provision of pension communication alone is not necessarily sufficient to improve workers’ understanding of their benefits or to ensure individuals will make pension-related decisions that are in their own best interests. This also has important pension policy implications for the optimal design of multi-pillar pension systems and future pension reforms.