Reinspirement - our new marketing campaign

Let’s rethink retirement

The old picture of retirement, one that looks the same for everyone, with a clear-cut finish line and a predictable next chapter, no longer reflects how people actually live. There is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to retirement. 

For some, retirement might mean finally having the freedom to travel, pursue a passion or spend more time with family. For others, it could mean working differently, starting something new, or simply having more choice over how they spend their time. 

Retirement has changed and pensions need to evolve too.

It starts with understanding how needs have changed 

By starting a conversation around what constitutes a modern retirement, we can better evolve to support our members and even inspire others in the industry to do the same. We don't have all the answers, but it has to start with asking real people what they need.

We conducted research, and wrote a report, Retirement Report 2026: Away from the Cliff Edge, based on a poll of more than 3,000 people, to help us understand what our members think of retirement. How are they feeling about it, what type of retirement they are expecting, and who do they go to for help. 

When reading the report, some of the key findings that stood out to me were that 44% of people saying that the word ‘retirement’ feels outdated to them, and about half of those surveyed want to continue some form of work into retirement. 

In the research, the word that people most referenced when thinking about retirement was ‘freedom’. This really resonated with me, as we believe our role as a pension provider is to make freedom possible - through choice, clarity, care. 

About the campaign

Using the research as our anchor, we've launched our new Reinspirement campaign. A nationwide campaign designed to challenge traditional perceptions of retirement. Our campaign celebrates the many ways retirement can look today, invites people to have a conversation on what retirement means to them, and shines a light on how Smart Pension can help people prepare for the future they want. Ultimately, to help make freedom possible. 

The campaign includes the public launch of our latest retirement research ‘Retirement report 2026: Away from the cliff edge’,  out-of-home advertising and social media activity.

By encouraging a conversation, we hope to make a real difference to people as they approach retirement. This includes the support we can give them at Smart Pension. That’s why, surrounding this year's Pensions UK conference, we’ll be inviting people from the public to step into our branded retirement taxi for a free 15-minute taxi ride, accompanied by one of our Retirement Support Specialists for a personalised guidance conversation.

That’s not all we are doing around Pensions UK, taking place in Liverpool from 13–15 October. As Chair of Pensions UK, our CEO Jamie Fiveash will be there hosting events and conversions  with many others from the Smart Pension team. And if you are attending, you won’t want to miss Jamie’s fireside chat, where he’ll be joined by esteemed futurist Tom Cheesewright and Bec Wilson founder of Epic Retirement Institute,  for a fascinating conversation about the future of retirement.

Reinspirement is about what's next

For Smart Pension, our Reinspirement campaign is just the start. Watch this space as we continue to focus on how we can support our members into and through retirement. Expect more research, more campaigns and more launches.

Retirement shouldn't be defined by stopping. And I am inspired by how we can help to make freedom possible for our members. 

Find out more about our Reinspirement campaign.

About Smart Pension

Launched in 2015, Smart Pension now exceeds £10bn in Assets Under Management (AUM) and serves 2 million members and 100,000 employers. It is powered by Keystone, Smart’s global savings and investments technology platform.

Aquiline, Barclays, Chrysalis Investments, DWS Group, Fidelity InternationalStrategic Ventures, J.P. Morgan, MUFG and Natixis Investment Managers are all investors in Smart Pension.