Getting plan members to think about their pension plans well before they are on the brink of retirement—and helping them to understand the true value of a defined contribution pension plan—aren’t easy tasks. But with the launch of four new videos last year and another this year, the B.C. Municipal Pension Plan has found a solution to the problem.

The Municipal Pension Plan is a multi-employer plan with approximately 205,000 active and retired members. According to Corina De Guire, director of communications with the British Columbia Pension Corporation (the administrative agent of the plan), the plan is an industry leader in Canada with the use of videos as part of its pension communications.
During initial focus group testing, 68% of participants said they had below-average knowledge of the pension plan before viewing the videos. After watching the videos, 85% said they had average or above-average knowledge of the plan, and 59% would recommend the videos to colleagues.

“Video has a very strong impact. You can relate to it better,” says Brendan Dick, chair of the B.C. Municipal Pension Plan’s board of trustees. He adds that all of the “actors” in the clips are staff members and that the production was done in-house, making the videos that much more personal.

The initial videos were geared toward four specific groups and launched when the plan was acquiring more employers and members. The first video, A Paycheque for Life, targets prospective employees and is used as a recruitment tool. The second, There Are Lots of Places Your Money Can Go, is geared toward members who can opt out of the plan (mainly part-time employees). The third video, Keeping Your Money in the Plan, is aimed at members who are leaving their employers prior to retirement. And the fourth, Pensions Made Easy, is a general information video for members who want to learn more.

A survey of the employers revealed that 93% considered the videos useful and relevant to employees. This is key because it’s the employers that promote and deliver them. The videos are used by the 677 employers in the Municipal Pension Plan at job fairs and employee orientation sessions, as well as on intranet sites. They’ve also been posted on YouTube and have been viewed more than 500 times, collectively.

However, championing a non-traditional communication method isn’t out of the ordinary for the B.C. Municipal Pension Plan. It has been webcasting its annual general meetings since 2002. “The videos are along the continuum of getting the message out about the value of the plan,” comments Dick. “There is an expectation [that we] do more than just send out paper information.”

The videos are just part of the organization’s overall communications strategy, which also includes more traditional materials. The videos complement those materials and have filled a gap. “Prior to these videos, the plan didn’t really have any retention or recruitment tools for employers to use,” says De Guire.

Since the videos were launched, other Canadian pension administrators have contacted the B.C. Pension Corporation, requesting copies and enquiring about the process and production capabilities. “I don’t think this is going to be non- traditional for much longer,” Dick adds.

This project was a step outside of the communications box, but the B.C. Municipal Pension Plan took the risk and has been rewarded for it. “We really appreciate this award,” Dick says. “It’s one thing to be recognized internally, but when you are recognized by the industry and your peers, it means a lot.”

April Scott-Clarke is assistant editor of Benefits Canada.
april.scottclarke@rci.rogers.com

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© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the December 2009 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.