SPP Event: Adequacy - Improving Knowledge and Engagement
Shifting the way we collectively think and educate people about pensions. This is the first event in a series of three exploring DC adequacyOnline
Thursday 12 February 2026
09:00-10:15am
With the Pension Commission expected to report in 2027, our Adequacy Series will run over the next 9 months and will delve into the key drivers of retirement adequacy, with each session exploring a different area from improving knowledge and engagement to looking beyond pensions and improving wider lifetime savings to finally exploring what we actually mean by “adequate”. This first session will examine one of the biggest challenges we have – how we can improve understanding of, and engagement with, pension savings. This event will look at:
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How different groups engage with money and savings
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How digital tools and resources, including the Pensions Dashboard, will change how people engage with their pensions
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The behavioural techniques that help overcome some of the psychological and practical barriers that prevent people from saving more
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What information DC members are actually asking for and the practical support they need
Speakers
Professor Iain Clacher
Professor of Pensions and Finance, Leeds University Business School
Iain is Professor of Pensions & Finance, the founder director of the University’s Centre for Financial Technology and Innovation, and leading researcher in the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment.
He is a recognised internationally as an expert on pensions and retirement savings, most notably on retirement decision-making, pension fund investment, infrastructure investing, sustainable pension systems, trustee governance, and fund management costs and fees. He is widely published in international journals, a key contributor to pension policy and practice, and an expert advisor to a range of businesses, policy makers and organisations.
A central feature of Iain’s research is its real-world relevance, he is often cited in the press on issues of pensions, finance, and economics. He has advised organisations including, The CERN Pension Fund, The City of London Corporation, The Work Foundation, The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, The Office for National Statistics, he was a board member of the IDWG of Financial Conduct Authority, and most recently was an expert witness to the Work and Pensions Select Committee investigation into Liability Driven Investment in 2022 and to the Select Committee’s investigation into Defined Benefit Pensions in 2023.
Richard Smith
Independent Pensions Professional
Richard has been a career pensions professional since 1987, specialising solely in pensions dashboards since 2019. Currently, he is full-time pro bono helping industry prepare for dashboards.
During 2020, Richard led the development of the initial data standards for the Pensions Dashboards Programme. From 2021-2024, he was the specialist Pensions Dashboards Consultant at the PLSA (now Pensions UK). At PensionFusion, the leading ISP connecting to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, Richard authored award-winning large scale personal data matching research.
For three years, Richard also advised Moneyhub on their plans to become the leading white label provider of private sector front-end dashboards, and, during 2024, he was volunteer independent Chair of the Dashboard Operators Coalition. In March 2025, he was asked to give expert evidence on dashboards to an oral evidence session of the Work and Pensions Committee.
Richard has also been a volunteer member of the PASA Dashboards Working Group since 2017, helping to author various dashboards guidance. Finally, for the last 11 years, since 2014, Richard has maintained an independent blog all about pensions dashboards, including the detailed findings of his 2023 independent research tour of five continental European dashboards.
Adele Ray
Head of DC Client Development, Mercer Limited
Adele joined Mercer UK in July 2025 as Head of DC Client Development and is responsible for driving growth in the DC team. With a strong focus on strategic development and client engagement, Adele is dedicated to expanding Mercer’s influence in the defined contribution (DC) space.
Prior to joining Mercer, Adele served as Business Development Director at Legal & General Asset Management, primarily responsible for growing LGIM’s DC business. She is passionate about pensions and committed to delivering solutions that serve the best interests of UK savers, with the aim of ensuring a more secure and comfortable retirement for all future retirees.
Anish Rav
Director of Global Pensions Policy & Propositions, Capita Pension Solutions
Anish is Director of Global Pensions Policy & Propositions at Capita Pension Solutions and is known as an influential voice, for both his thought leadership and his innovative approach to addressing today’s retirement issues. He is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and an Advisory Council member and has advised both trustees and corporate clients. Anish has held senior roles at a number of the UK’s leading consultancies and master trust providers, including Mercer, PwC, Hymans Robertson, Barclays and Smart. He has been involved in pensions since 1995 and has led the development of master trusts since 2012.
Sophia Singleton (Chair)
SPP President and Head of DC, XPS Group
Sophia is a partner and Head of DC at XPS Pensions Group. She has over 25 years’ experience in the UK pensions industry and advises corporates and trustees across all areas of their DC schemes including optimising benefit design, developing investment solutions, improving member engagement and ensuring effective scheme governance.
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