Large German companies have embarked on a journey to use artificial intelligence (AI) mostly as a human resources (HR) tool and to improve communication with pension plan members, with a view to simplifying administrative processes.
Bosch uses GenAI for employees who are still working, 142,600 in Germany, said Gordon Teckentrup, director of pensions and related benefits, speaking at the Handelsblatt occupational pension forum in Berlin last week.
The company has internally deployed its AI-based search engine “ask Bosch”, tools to upload documents (“PDF intelligence”) that also interact with documents through (the “chat with your document” function), according to Teckentrup’s presentation at the event.
In HR ‘Rob’ – the HR digital assistant – is a chatbot that can access the HR database providing personalised answers to employee questions, for example regarding the Bosch pension plan and pension entitlements.
“‘Rob’ knows if an employee is asking, or HR, or an executive, and directs its answer. This is the setting that at the moment we have in HR, that from our point of view will be the user experience in the long term for occupational pensions, with fast, individual access, [and] precise answers tailored to employees,” Teckentrup added.
WTW manages occupational pensions for Bosch and uses AI as a tool to answer questions from plan members.
“AI helps us provide accurate and eloquent answers, and we can use these suggested answers to respond quickly to plan members. We use all relevant information for our AI solution, from general client pension information to specific commitments. So far, our experience has been very positive,” Franziska Kühnemund, senior director at WTW, told IPE.
Mainly larger companies use AI for knowledge management in Germany, while smaller companies usually lack the financial resources and technical knowledge to implement any AI tool for their company pensions.
“It is only a matter of time before AI solutions are used here, once standardised solutions are available,” Kühnemund added.
Vodafone offers a direct promise (Direktzusage) as an occupational pension, and has a platform for employees, but has not yet turned to AI-based solutions like Bosch, Stefan Prey, board member of the Vodafone Pension Trust, said during the event, adding that the company has started to use Microsoft copilot.
The positive aspect of using AI in occupational pensions is that it helps to transfer information, he added.
Head of occupational pensions at BMW, Monika Hennersberger, added during a panel discussion at the Handelsblatt occupational pension forum that the carmaker is starting to deploy AI in HR, with chatbots in an intranet for employees.
Personalised replies to employees’ requests represent the next step, taking into account personal data protection, she added.
For Patrick Dahmen, chair of InsurLab Germany, a platform set up to develop digital products and services, AI can be used as a customer journey tool, flanked with chatbots, transferring information to employees but also starting certain processes.
“The next step is private pensions, addressing people appropriately,” he said.
Positive outlook on AI
Managing company pensions in Germany is a complex task, with different types of entitlements, and different ways of offering occupational pensions. Companies face the challenge of managing the entire cycle, from enrolment to payout, of a pension scheme member.
“AI can help reduce this complexity. The occupational pension industry in Germany is positive about using AI to improve administrative processes, making them more transparent and faster. This is the key finding of our survey,” Claudio Thum, senior director at WTW, told IPE.
The majority of respondents to a WTW survey believe that AI will lead to a better occupational pension service.
Results also showed that 50% of respondents said they were already using AI solutions, or will deploy them in the next two years. Currently, the majority (70%) use AI in occupational pensions to analyse data and for reporting, 63% for knowledge management, and 57% to reply to employee questions regarding benefits, according to WTW.
The majority of companies use generative cloud AI platforms (58%) and self-developed solutions (52%). Additionally, 20% of the firms surveyed by WTW use AI assistants.
“There are also obstacles, such as regulatory compliance and data protection. The issue of risk management systems is also increasingly important. There is a need to ensure that the right answers and calculations are being made by AI,” Thum added.
AI also has the potential to reduce the workload of occupational pension experts, which is particularly important in view of demographic changes in Germany.
“AI will find its way into all aspects of occupational pensions. The only question is how soon,” Thum said.
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