Lack of Closure Experience in pensions
Pensions are having to evolve with working practices. 80 years ago people would have a job for life. That job providing a pension that would grow as you aged. As few people moved jobs, tracking people would only need to be done by the employer.
Jobs for life are a rare thing now and in the UK with each new employer, you will receive a new pension through the companies pension provider. The department for work and pensions believe we now have on average 11 employers in our life time. That means 11 different pension pots with different service providers. Each keeping contact with the individual over potentially decades - an issue that we rarely apply ourselves to as designers.
A recent study by Age Concern, a UK charity, suggests 1 in 4 of these pots goes missing through lack of contact. Literally lost in time. This is an eye watering amount of money that could well make the difference between a cold winter or a comfortable one for many pensioners.
Keeping a service alive for decades is a complicated business and requires considerable thought for the Closure Experience - in this case tracking users over years and delivering their payout.
