Scottish Widows Workplace Savings Podcast

Pension tracing is evolving - with new technology, better data and industry collaboration creating real opportunities to improve outcomes. In this episode, Robert Cochran is joined by industry experts, Workplace Proposition Leads Richard Brown and Eleanor Hassall-Marlow, for a pension transfer special. Together, they explore how processes are improving, the role of dashboards, and the growing impo...

What if your pension felt more like a game: simple, engaging, even motivating? And right there on your phone. Would you be more likely to get involved? Scottish Widows’ pension gamified journeys have now been accessed over 1 million times, showing the growing appetite for more engaging, interactive ways to connect with pensions. In this episode, Robert Cochran is joined by Maighread Simpson, Rose...

In this episode, Pete Glancy, Head of Pensions Policy, joins Robert Cochran to unpack Part 1 of the Scottish Widows 22nd UK Retirement Report, revealing that 31% of UK adults (12.2 million) are on track for pension poverty - down from 39% in 2025. Drawing on the National Retirement Forecast, they explore what’s behind this improvement and just how fragile it is, cost of living pressures, and the s...

In this episode, we explore a period of major change in workplace pension investing — from evolving default funds and increasing private market exposure, to Value for Money reforms and new retirement investment solutions. Robert Cochran and Sharon Bellingham are joined by Gerald Wellesley, Investment Chair of the Scottish Widows Master Trust. With over 35 years of investment experience and two dec...

What’s it like to step into a Master Trust Trustee role? Joanne Fairburn has the answers.  She joins Robert Cochran and Sharon Bellingham to share fresh insights from her extensive pensions career and her experience as a Trustee of the Scottish Widows Master Trust. Joanne talks us through what it really means to be a Trustee, the major challenges and opportunities ahead for DC schemes, and how she...

Guy Opperman on Pensions Dashboards, CDC, Auto-Enrolment & the Future of UK Retirement Saving Description: In this episode of the Scottish Widows podcast, former UK Pensions Minister Guy Opperman joins host Robert Cochran to reflect on his time in office and the future of the UK pensions system. Opperman discusses the delivery of the Pension Schemes Act, progress on pensions dashboards, and th...

In this 20‑minute live episode, Robert Cochran speaks with Chris Curry, Principal of the Pension Dashboard programme and Adam Gifford, who is leading on customer research. In front of an audience of employers and advisers, they explore where the programme stands today, what recent real‑user testing of the new MoneyHelper Pension Dashboard is revealing, and the changes now needed as a result. Chris...

Scottish Widows CEO Chira Barua joins the podcast like a whirlwind to share how he is driving forward the business - we dive into: Personal highlights of 2025 - including app numbers, trust pilot scores and earnings growth. We find about his most inspiring meeting of 2025 - a first glimpse of a Lloyds Investment AI Agent. How securing pension Lloyds scheme to Scottish Widows Master Trust delivers...

Discover how 2,500 customer‑facing colleagues, powered by cutting‑edge AI, are delivering exceptional support at the moments that matter most. With soaring Trustpilot scores and personalised, multilingual experiences, Robert Cochran is joined by Niamh Whelan and Scott Gunderson to share inspiring stories of service transformed.

AI is changing how people engage with pensions - whether they’re seeking advice, researching pensions schemes, or making workplace decisions. In our latest podcast Robert Cochran is joined by award winning expert Thomas Joy who explains what this means for advisers, employers, and members, and how pension schemes can stay ahead in a fast-moving world.

In this Trustee Special we hear directly from long time Trustee and Chair of the Scottish Widows Master Trust Jonathan Reynolds. Along with Sharon Bellingham we talk about the excitement of changes to come with Targeted support, the power of annuities, how a month of food in a day isn't Freedom and Choice. We also discuss the importance of being a strong commercial successful Master Trust and what...

What's it like to move into a Master Trust Trustee role?  I'm joined by Sharon Bellingham as we talk to Mike Birch, ex of the Regulator and newest Trustee on the Scottish Widows Master Trust. He shares his view of the rigorous application process, his special superpower, and what he thinks are the biggest challenges facing the Master Trust Market.  We dive into Decumulation, CDC and his experience...

Welcome to 21 Years of the Scottish Widows Women in Retirement Report, a special series exploring women’s financial futures beyond the numbers. Over two decades of insights have shown us that retirement isn’t just about savings and pensions; it’s about life stories, resilience, and change. In this podcast, hosted by Debbie Sheffield, this special edition features Jill Henderson, Shevonne McLarnon,...

James Biggs reflects on 35 years of helping people with their finances. He's a brilliant storyteller, he loves people, and he's a nonstop innovator. Hear about how he launched EBC TV, being played on Radio 1, and what makes a great employer adviser provider relationship. It's a lot of fun.

With over 30 million UK users and the meteoric rise of #FINTOK revolutionising the world of finance comms, it's time to go deep. I'm joined by James Bowyer of TikTok and Scott Stevenson of Scottish Widows' Brand team for a fascinating look behind the TikTok success story and look at the role it's already playing in UK pensions planning. We talk Dodgy Gardeners, what dog you need for retirement and...

Mithesh, Head of Investment Solutions at Scottish Widows, shares his fascinating journey from the world of investment start-ups to bringing his private markets expertise to Scottish Widows. He walks us through how Scottish Widows is reshaping its default fund to better reflect evolving customer behaviours and offers insights into the latest ventures into private market solutions, including the dev...

The Scottish Widows' Retirement Report sent shockwaves through the media, with the startling revelation that 39%* of the UK population may fall short of a basic standard of living in retirement. In this episode, Pete Glancy – the report’s author and friend of the podcast – joins Robert Cochran for an exclusive deep dive beyond the headlines. Together, they unravel the complexities of this year’s r...

Scottish Widows' Chief Investment Officer is shaking up the way hundreds of billions of pounds of assets are managed, focusing on customer behaviour and a goal to get the UK thinking more like a nation of investors, each with a stake in society. Kevin's path is nothing short of inspiring. From his beginnings as a math teacher to becoming a CIO, his story is filled with fascinating analogies and me...

Join us as we explore the UK’s largest study of digital and financial lives. In this episode Robert Cochran is joined by special guests Jemma Waters, Head of Customer Inclusion for Lloyds Banking Group and sponsor of the report, alongside Lucinda Crowther from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, where we look at the report findings and support available for employers and individuals to h...

Recorded in front of a live audience of Employers. Robert Cochran is joined by Pension Dashboard experts Chris Curry and Richard Smith. They have an interactive discussion about dashboards: where the programme is right now, what Richard learned on his European Dashboard trip and answering some great audience questions, including how vulnerable the pension dashboard is to scammers. To get ready for...

Damian Stancombe, an award-winning pension personality and one of the most interesting characters in workplace savings, joins me for this fascinating podcast. It's a game of two halves. In the first half, he shares his unique views on the state of the UK Workplace Savings Market, drawing on more than 30 years of experience—some fabulous insight from inside the world of Employee Benefits and what m...

Join us for a special International Women’s Day podcast hosted by Jill Henderson, Head of Workplace Strategic Relationships, Jackie Leiper, Managing Director at Scottish Widows, and her daughter Rebecca. In this insightful episode, we hear about their personal journey of closing the pension gap and explore the importance of meaningful financial planning conversations. Discover practical tips and i...

In this episode, we flip from the provider view to the Employer view. After nearly 40 years in the workplace pension market, the majority of which was spent working in-house to run pension schemes for some of the UK's biggest employers, my guest Paul Bird has lots of insight into delivering great pension benefits for employees. In this podcast, he shares his story—from closing DB schemes to helpin...

Yes, kicking off the 2025 series of the Scottish Widows Workplace Savings Podcast, Robert Cochran is joined by Scottish Widows CEO Chira Barua. They discuss Chira's first 18 months in role and his big plans for 2025 and beyond. The discussion includes - views on adequacy, digitising pensions, gamifying financial experience, Mansion House Reforms, Chira's love of the guitar and empowering individua...

In our final podcast of 2024, Robert Cochran, our Innovation and Engagement Specialist is joined by our very own Master Trust Lead, Sharon Bellingham. Sharon shares her invaluable experience and insights, on a journey that takes us from Mansion House and the Secondary Market, through to DE&I and what matters most to our members.