The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) helped 187,000 people in 2017/18, a 9% fall on the previous year despite setting up special helplines for specific scheme members.
In its annual review for the year, the organisation said the figure, which is also up 121% on 2013/14, shows it has been able “to exceed our own expectations”, with new service delivery channels and larger technical specialist and wider teams.
Over the year, TPAS had set up specialist helpline services for members of the British Steel and Royal Mail pension schemes, as well as the Universities Superannuation Scheme, all three of which had seen major changes.
The majority of helpline inquiries (38%) came from people seeking advice on taking benefits in retirement, with particular questions about personal circumstances and individual pension scheme rules. The enquiry type was also top via webchat and written communication, at 19% and 23% of all enquiries via these channels respectively.
The helpline also saw advice being sought by 9% about paying contributions into both private pension and state pension accounts, including how salary sacrifice schemes could affect state pension entitlements. Some 8% asked for advice on transferring benefits from one scheme or provider to another, and 7% filed general information requests.
However, costs per direct customer (excluding visitors to the website) rose by £5 over the year, growing from £31 to £36. With the 3.2 million website visits included, the figure fell from £1.59 to £1.37.
TPAS chief executive Michelle Cracknell said recent changes had helped improve efficiencies.
“Over the last five years, we have seen a significant increase in consumer contact and continue to help more pension savers,” she said. “We’ve been building new channels for service delivery to create efficiencies and have increased the number of customer-facing staff.
“Throughout all of this change, we have kept the customer at the heart of our business and have continued to drive the cost per customer down [over the last five years], without impacting on the quality of pension guidance provided.”
TPAS works with a number of partner organisations, including the Money Advice Service (MAS), whose chief executive, Charles Counsell, said the relationship was working well.
“This is the second year of a very successful partnership between TPAS and MAS,” he said. “Customers who contact MAS whose questions are primarily about pensions are transferred seamlessly to the TPAS contact centre, whether they have contacted us by phone or webchat.
“During the course of the year, our partnership enabled us to pass 15,478 customers through to TPAS in order that they could receive the specialist pensions guidance that they needed.”
The review comes as TPAS and MAS prepare to merge with Pension Wise to form the Single Financial Guidance Body, which is due to happen in October before officially launching in January next year.
Earlier this year, just over 240 TPAS dispute resolution service volunteers were transferred to The Pensions Ombudsman in a bid to reduce duplication and improve customer experience.