ATP manages both the Danish Labour Market Supplementary Pension Scheme (ATP), the Temporary Pension Savings Scheme, or DMP and the Special Pension Savings Scheme otherwise known as SP. So, with more than 4m members and almost 500,000 pensioners, running a smooth administrative system is essential.

Until recently, the fund used to communicate with members either through the print media or over the telephone. ATP says that as a compulsory scheme it feels a special obligation to keep its members supplied with information while listening to their opinions (membership surveys feature regularly).

In order to allow the 3.5m unretired members to check their payments and view their pension forecasts, ATP began issuing pension summaries to its members this spring. Marketing consultant AIM-Nielsen were brought in to draft an accessible and understandable document, free of excessive jargon and technicalities. In a subsequent membership survey, 77% said they had looked through the material, and 73% of those having read the pension summary described the language as clear and easy to understand. Over the same period the website was taking around 300 hits a day to access a specially established section answering frequently asked questions.

In addition to the pension summary, ATP sends out Horisont, a magazine with relevant articles, to the scheme members. ATP boasts that the management of the three funds is inexpensive, and at DKK 31 (e4) per member per year, this seems the case. Just as an illustration, the pension summary costs DKK 10 per member, therefore taking a significant chunk of the funds earmarked for communicating with members.
Membership meetings are another important means of keeping members informed, according to the fund. Since 1997, these have been held regularly and across the country. This spring, ATP ran seven such meetings that were attended by around 3,000 members. These meetings feature talks by the chairman of the board of directors and the general manager at ATP. The fund says that dialogue with members is a pivotal point in the membership meetings as it gives them a chance to quiz the powers-that-be and to offer constructive criticism.

This criticism is also vital in that it comes into play when the fund is lobbying the government on any relevant legislation. Earlier in May, the government adopted a bill to overhaul the ATP scheme and some of the amendments were are direct result of the membership meetings. As an example, the fund cites the repeal of legislation regarding postponement of lump sum payments to surviving spouses. Now, as a result of member criticism, the surviving spouses will receive their benefits without delay.

The internet has become an increasingly important tool for communicating with scheme members. As of this year, ATP extended its websites thereby enabling members to access their own accounts and check their relevant data-contributions, projections etc. Consequently it is possible for members to view their annual contributions to ATP each year and to see the name of the employer making the contribution. Members have what ATP calls their own ‘cv’, a summary of the state of their own pension fund.

Two years ago, ATP launched an independent internet service allowing every Danish citizen to see an overall summary of their pension provision at ages 60, 65 and 67. The site, www.pensionsinfo.dk, brings together data for each and every Danish citizen, from a number of pension providers including the state-funded scheme. ATP says that all pension companies and financial institutions are expected to submit data to the website shortly.

Almost half of ATP’s 4m members access the internet from home and, of this group, over a third have asked for their pension summary to be sent to them electronically rather than by post. In June, ATP therefore signed an agreement with the new internet-service e-Boks stating that members can receive their details electronically, if they so wish.

The fund has really taken to its new ‘high-tech’ approach – this year’s membership meeting in Copenhagen was videoed for the first time and key sequences of the chairman’s and the general manager’s speeches have subsequently been posted on the company website in audio and video. These extracts have been viewed in full or in part by almost 1,600 of the visitors to the website. In addition, a live relay of the entire membership meeting in Aalborg was webcast through the website – also a first.

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