Here’s a question worth sitting with: if only 25% of DC pension holders aged 45 or over have a clear plan for how to take their money, whose job is it to help them get there?
According to the FCA’s Financial Lives 2024 survey, that’s the reality. Three quarters of people approaching the most consequential financial decision of their lives don’t know what they’re doing. And while that’s partly a product of complexity, it’s also a communication failure. Pensions are confusing partly because the industry hasn’t always done a good enough job of explaining them.
The FCA’s Pensions Regulatory Priorities report (March 2026) makes clear that this needs to change. Published as part of a new series of annual reports replacing more than 40 previous portfolio letters, it sets out exactly what the regulator expects from life insurers, SIPP operators, investment platforms, advisers, wealth managers and asset managers involved in pension business. If that describes your firm, this report is addressed to your board and your chief executive.
This blog breaks it down, explains what each priority means for your content and marketing, and makes the case for why specialist financial copywriting is one of the wisest investments your business can make right now.
The scale of what's at stake
Before getting into the priorities, it’s worth taking a moment with the numbers. The UK pension market holds over £3 trillion of assets across defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. The contract-based DC market alone, which is where the FCA’s direct remit sits, accounts for £1.36 trillion of total assets (FCA retirement income market data 2024/25).
These aren’t abstract figures. They represent millions of people’s retirement security. And the market is growing: in 2024/25, 961,575 pension plans were accessed for the first time from FCA-regulated firms, an increase of 8.6% on the previous year and 61.3% higher than in 2020/21. More people than ever are engaging with their pensions at the point of access. The quality of the information and support they receive at that moment matters enormously.
The FCA knows this. Its four priorities for the year ahead are built around ensuring that firms rise to that responsibility.
Priority one: value for money schemes and what they need to communicate
The FCA, the government and The Pensions Regulator are jointly developing a new Value for Money (VFM) framework for workplace pensions. Final rules are expected by Q4 2026, ahead of a 2028 launch. The framework will require firms to assess and compare schemes against objective criteria, with savers transferred out of poorly performing schemes where necessary.
From a content perspective, this has significant implications. Firms will need to communicate clearly about scheme performance, asset allocation and value. They’ll need to explain what the VFM framework means for their members in terms that a non-expert can actually understand. And as the government’s Pension Schemes Bill progresses through Parliament, the operational and commercial changes it brings will need to be communicated to clients, employers and intermediaries in a way that builds confidence rather than confusion.
Clear, accurate and jargon-free communication about value isn’t just good practice here. It’s a regulatory expectation. Consumer Duty requires firms to demonstrate that consumers genuinely understand what they’re getting and what it costs. If your content team is producing materials about scheme value that aren’t genuinely clear to the reader, you’re not meeting that bar.
Priority two: supporting consumers at the moments that matter most
This is where the content challenge becomes most acute. The FCA is explicit: “low consumer understanding and engagement continues to be a challenge within the pensions market.” It wants firms to help consumers make informed decisions “particularly at key stages in the pensions journey.”
Those key stages, the point of first access, the approach to retirement, decumulation decisions, are precisely the moments when clear communication can make or break a consumer outcome. And they’re the moments when financial content is hardest to get right.
Two significant regulatory developments sit under this priority. First, the new targeted support rules, which came into force in April 2026. These allow firms to provide suggestions to groups of consumers with similar characteristics to help them make pension and investment decisions, without that constituting regulated financial advice. It’s a meaningful new channel. But the language firms use in targeted support communications requires real precision. Say too little and you’re not helpful. Say too much in the wrong way and you’ve strayed into advice territory. The FCA is watching this closely.
Second, the Pension Schemes Bill includes provisions for pension dashboards, which the FCA expects will significantly increase consumer engagement with pensions. When consumers start actively comparing and questioning their pension pots, they’ll be looking to their providers for clear, reassuring and accurate information. Firms that have invested in good content will be ready. Those that haven’t will be scrambling.
The FCA is also consulting on new rules for interactive digital pension planning tools and non-advised DC pension transfers. If your firm uses digital tools to support consumer decision-making, the quality of the content within those tools is part of your regulatory compliance, not just your UX.
Priority three: growth, innovation and the private assets opportunity
The FCA wants to support growth. It’s actively encouraging firms to consider investment in private assets where there’s potential for better long-term returns and diversification, in line with the Mansion House Accord and wider government initiatives. It’s also consulting on whether performance fees should be exempt from the pension charge cap, to facilitate access to a broader range of asset classes.
This is genuinely new territory for many pension providers and it brings a content challenge that’s easy to underestimate. Explaining private asset investment to pension savers, accurately, proportionately and without either overstating the opportunity or underselling the risk, requires considerable skill. The FCA has been clear that firms investing in private markets need robust controls and needs to be able to explain those controls clearly.
For marketing teams, this means that growth strategy and content strategy need to move together. If your firm is expanding its asset allocation to include private markets, your client communications, adviser-facing content and regulatory disclosures all need to reflect that accurately and in a way that meets Consumer Duty requirements around consumer understanding.
Priority four: modernising legacy systems (and legacy content)
The FCA’s fourth priority is about longstanding structural issues in the market: ageing technology, difficulty contacting consumers and savers locked in older products with limited flexibility. The regulator plans to begin external engagement and roundtables on this from Q2 2026.
It’s easy to read this as a technology priority, but it’s equally a content one. Many firms are still relying on pension communications written years ago, for products that may have changed significantly and regulatory frameworks that have been substantially updated. “Goneaway” consumers, those who have lost contact with their provider, are a problem partly because the communications designed to maintain that relationship haven’t been working.
If your brand has legacy content sitting on its website, in its client communications library or in its digital tools, now is the time to audit it. Consumer Duty requires that communications are not only accurate at the point of creation but remain appropriate as circumstances change. Content that was compliant in 2021 may not meet today’s standards.
At Alex Genn Copywriting, we’ve spent over twenty years helping financial services firms communicate more clearly, more compliantly and more effectively with their clients. We’ve worked with American Express, Invesco, Lloyds Banking Group, Rathbones, Moody’s Analytics, NatWest and many more. Whether it’s pension member communications, regulatory disclosures, adviser-facing content or thought-leadership pieces, we understand both the regulatory environment and how to write for the people who actually read this stuff. Talk to us today.
Why FCA-compliant pensions marketing needs specialist copywriters
There’s a version of this conversation where a marketing director says: “We’ve got a content team, we’ll be fine.” And they might be right. But the intersection of pensions regulation, Consumer Duty, the advice/guidance boundary, targeted support rules and VFM requirements is genuinely complex. General content teams, however talented, often lack the regulatory context to spot when a phrase crosses a line or when a piece of content that reads well is nonetheless non-compliant.
The FCA’s approach to supervision is changing. It’s promising “stronger, faster action where harm is greatest.” Firms with poor-quality financial content, including content that misleads, oversimplifies or fails to meet Consumer Duty standards, are increasingly likely to attract regulatory attention.
Specialist financial services copywriting isn’t a luxury. It’s risk management with better prose.
You can see how we approach financial services content on our samples page. The work ranges across wealth management, insurance, fintech, pensions and investment platforms. It’s always compliant. It’s always clear. And it always has a job to do.
Frequently asked questions
What is the FCA’s Pensions Regulatory Priorities report?
It’s a new annual report from the Financial Conduct Authority, published in March 2026, that sets out the regulator’s key areas of focus for the pensions market. It replaces more than 40 previous portfolio letters and is aimed at boards and chief executives of FCA-regulated firms involved in pension business, including life insurers, SIPP operators, investment platforms, advisers, wealth managers and asset managers. You can read the full report here.
What is the Value for Money (VFM) framework and when does it apply?
The VFM framework is being developed jointly by the FCA, The Pensions Regulator and the government to ensure workplace pension schemes provide genuine value to savers. It will introduce objective criteria for assessing and comparing scheme performance, with final rules expected by Q4 2026 and a launch date of 2028. Firms with poorly performing schemes will be expected to act, whether through asset reallocation or member transfers. The framework sits alongside the government’s Pension Schemes Bill, which is making its way through Parliament. The FCA’s latest consultation is CP26/1.
What are targeted support rules and how do they affect pension communications?
Targeted support is a new regulatory category that came into force in April 2026. It allows FCA-regulated firms to provide suggestions to groups of consumers with similar characteristics to help them make pension and investment decisions, without that constituting regulated financial advice. It creates a significant opportunity to improve consumer outcomes, but the language firms use matters a great deal. Communications that cross into personalised advice territory create regulatory risk. The FCA’s rules are set out in PS25/22.
What does Consumer Duty mean for pensions content?
Consumer Duty requires FCA-regulated firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers across four areas: products and services, price and value, consumer understanding and consumer support. For pensions content specifically, the consumer understanding outcome is critical. It means your member communications, digital tools, factsheets and marketing materials need to genuinely help consumers make informed decisions, not simply disclose information. Firms are expected to monitor outcomes and update content where it’s not working. Find out more on the FCA’s Consumer Duty page.
What are pension dashboards and how should firms prepare for them?
Pension dashboards are digital tools that will allow consumers to view all their pension information in one place. The FCA expects dashboards to significantly increase consumer engagement with pensions. When savers can easily see and compare their pension pots, they’ll be looking to their providers for clear, accurate information and support. Firms should be preparing now to ensure their client communications and digital content are ready for a more engaged, more questioning consumer base.
What is the advice/guidance boundary and why does it matter for pension content?
The advice/guidance boundary separates regulated financial advice, which involves a personalised recommendation, from general guidance and information, which doesn’t require FCA authorisation. For content teams, this boundary matters because inadvertently crossing it through website copy, emails or marketing materials can create significant regulatory risk. The introduction of targeted support has added a third category, sitting between general guidance and full advice, which makes precise language more important than ever.
What financial promotions rules apply to pension marketing?
Any communication that invites or induces a consumer to engage in investment or pension activity is a financial promotion and must be fair, clear and not misleading. It must be approved by an authorised person before publication, unless a specific exemption applies. This covers a wide range of content: website pages, emails, social media posts, factsheets and advertising. The FCA actively monitors financial promotions in the pensions space.
How often should pension-related content be reviewed?
At a minimum, consumer-facing pension content should be reviewed whenever there’s a significant regulatory change, a product update or a change in the firm’s regulatory permissions. Given the current pace of reform, including the VFM framework, targeted support rules, the Pension Schemes Bill and Consumer Duty updates, many firms should be reviewing their core content at least annually. Legacy content, materials produced before Consumer Duty came into force in particular, should be a priority.
Why use a specialist financial services copywriter for pension content?
Pension content sits at the intersection of complex regulation, genuine consumer need and significant financial risk. A specialist financial services copywriter understands the FCA’s rules, the Consumer Duty framework, the advice/guidance boundary and the targeted support regime. They can produce content that’s genuinely clear and engaging for consumers while meeting regulatory requirements. That combination is rarer than it sounds and more valuable than most firms realise until something goes wrong. See examples of our financial services work here.
How can Alex Genn Copywriting help with FCA pensions marketing?
We’ve been writing financial services content for over twenty years, working with firms including American Express, Invesco, Lloyds Banking Group, Rathbones, Moody’s Analytics, NatWest and AXA. We understand the pensions regulatory landscape and produce content that’s clear, compliant and built to work hard for your brand. Whether you need pension member communications, site content, dashboard planning, or thought leadership for your marketing team or something else, we can help.
Ready to get your pensions content working harder?
The FCA’s 2026 pensions priorities set a clear direction of travel. Consumer engagement is going to increase, through dashboards, through targeted support and through the broader reform agenda. The firms that communicate well will be the ones that build trust, retain clients and stay on the right side of the regulator.
If your pensions content isn’t up to that challenge, we’d love to help.
At Alex Genn Copywriting, we specialise in financial services content that’s clear, compliant and built to work. With 25 senior-level copywriters, we have the expertise and experience to ensure your project is a success.