Supporting participants in choosing fixed or variable benefits based on experience sampling at the provisional and final moment of choice

Within the improved contribution scheme, participants can choose between a fixed or variable payment before the retirement date. Pension funds use standard models and a prescribed calculation method for this purpose. Participants see the expected pension, pension ‘in good’ and ‘in bad’ weather. However, this does not provide participants with insight into the year-on-year volatility of benefits. By means of experience sampling, in which the course of a limited number of scenarios are shown to and experienced with participants, they may gain more insight, which can help participants make the right choice.

The aim of the research is to see to what extent the participant can be supported in the orientation and provisional choice with the method of experience sampling. The study compares two subgroups on the basis of an experimental set-up, in which one is presented with the existing practice and the other with the new method of experience sampling.