For defined contribution plan members, the evolution of education and engagement has passed several milestones, including the introduction of email and mobile apps.

“At Manulife, we’ve reached a point where we have two-thirds of logins going through the mobile app and one-third going through the website,” said Marc-Antoine Morin, the record-keeper’s assistant vice-president of group retirement, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 DC Plan Summit. “Both of them are growing faster, [but the] mobile app is just going to dominate the industry. So what’s next?”

Read: Personalization key to younger DC plan member engagement

It’s the era of personalization, he added, noting the pension industry is competing for plan members’ attention and it needs to use the same tools used by other types of media, sports and politics. “We have to target the right members, using the right message, the right creative, the right channel and at the right time. . . . Look at all the tools the marketing industry is using in some of those larger organizations and hopefully we can deploy some of these.”

Going back to 2011, it was all about mass email communications, said Morin, then data was incorporated to make communications more personalized, allowing members to feel the email is speaking directly to them. The following step was moving from campaigns to journeys, which he called a guided tour with a personal itinerary; this might include an initial email followed be a reminder that incorporates some information.

Moving from data personalization to journey eventually tripled the adoption of Manulife’s mobile app and increased logins by 48 per cent, noted Morin. However, the goal is to get plan members to take action, which led to deep links; essentially, an action button that takes the member straight to their next steps.

Read: Data, personas and generational focus keys to successful benefits, pension communication

“Once people have gone through that experience, the next time they’re going to receive something from you or your provider, they know it’s a great experience, it’s easy and they know how to talk to you. . . . This type of experience works not only for mobile apps, but it’s the same experience on the web — it’s going to send you to a login screen, you log in, you go through the security, but it’s going to get you directly on the right experience.”

Morin also discussed artificial intelligence, calling it one of the biggest game-changers the industry will see in the next few years. In particular, with the younger generations, DC plan sponsors can use AI to generate short videos like members would see on TikTok, which can grab their attention much more easily.

Read more coverage of the 2025 DC Plan Summit.