During a webinar discussing the survey’s results, Jimmy Carbonneau, national director of group retirement, group insurance and group annuity plans advisor at AGA Benefit Solutions, said it was reassuring to see the predominant use of email alongside a decrease in alternative communications. “Communication depends on two things: consistency and relevance.”

The survey also found social media was cited by more younger members (14 per cent for those aged 18 to 34) as an effective communications tool compared to their older counterparts (six per cent for those aged 35 to 54 and three per cent for those aged over 55-years-old).

Export Development Canada is meeting the demand for quick hit communications, according to Angela Rawal, its principal of pension programs. “We’re incorporating . . . brief reminders or touch points [into our communications plans] that surface during different parts of the pension savings and broader benefits offering over time.”

Carbonneau also noted younger plan members prefer piecemeal information that’s punchier. “Knowledge and communications are not [all] at once — it’s built over time.”

The survey also asked about people’s level of trust for information provided by an AI chatbot or robo-advisor through their workplace savings plan, with a fifth (19 per cent) saying they trust this information fully. Men (26 per cent) were twice as likely as women (13 per cent) to trust this information, while younger members were also more likely than their older counterparts.

Tawnya Duxbury, assistant vice-president of products and solutions for workplace retirement at the Canada Life Assurance Co., said women and older demographics prefer a human interaction before making financial decisions. “From the women standpoint, it’s largely more as a bouncing board to say, ‘Am I on the right track? Does this make sense?’ [With] more of that reassurance along the way.”